


Rite of Passage

by shadesalogel



Series: Med-jai Chronicles [1]
Category: The Mummy (1999)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Don't copy to another site, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-10-21 15:38:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 98,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20695946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadesalogel/pseuds/shadesalogel
Summary: When fourteen-year-old Ardeth Bey visits Cairo for the first time and meets Rick O'Connell, chaos ensues!





	1. First Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize do not belong to the authors. Some of the ideas were inspired by Xanthia Morgan’s wonderful fic, Brother of My Soul. Cross-posting from ff.net. Do not copy to another site!
> 
> This story is coauthored by Rina and Shade—we hope you enjoy it! Many thanks to Taracinablue for betaing this for us.

Ardeth stared around him in wonder, never having seen so many people or buildings packed into such a small area. This was the young man’s first experience in a city, and the sensory overload was almost too much. His father knew of his curiosity about the foreigners that were coming into Egypt, and allowed him to come here to learn a little more about the people he would have to defend Hamunaptra from.

The fourteen-year-old turned to ask the two warriors sent to guard him where they were going, only to find them several dozen feet away, pushed back by the crowd. Alarmed, Ardeth started making his way towards them, only to have a large hand close around his arm. He turned, finding himself face to face with a man taller than his father, and the man was glaring at him.

“Little desert brat, you shouldn’t have come here!” The man’s other hand lashed out, and only years of training prompted Ardeth to duck. He tugged free from the man, and glanced back for his escort. The crowd had pushed them out of sight. He was alone.

Gulping, the young man turned back to his assailant, and raised a calming hand. “Please, good man, let us discuss your quarrel calmly,” he said, head high, pleased he had managed the English so clearly.

"Well, look at this! The savage knows how to speak!" The man's gaze told Ardeth that he would not listen to reason. He shook his head briefly indicating the direction in which the boy's guards had been enveloped by the townsfolk. "Oh no, you won't be able to hide behind them." He threw a fist at Ardeth to meet only empty air. And again, with the same result. And again. Beginning to get frustrated, he tried to back Ardeth against a vendor's stand. The vendor tried to protest and ward the two away from his inventory, but the thug tossed him aside like a rag doll. He whined from where he lay, but was unwilling to die for the produce display he tended. He scampered away down the alley. The brute continued to advance on Ardeth.

Backing away from the man, Ardeth's eyes widened when he ran into the wood. The man lunged, and the boy ducked into a roll, getting out of the way. There was no way that he could win in hand-to-hand combat against this enraged giant, so the boy ducked into the crowd, hoping to find his way back to the other Med-jai.

As the vendor raced down the alleyway, he nearly bowled over a young boy. Just barely sidestepping the vendor, the boy fell back against the wall and looked on as the man, without stopping, continued his sprint away from the plaza. Rick's attention only stayed with him a split-second longer before he heard a crash of pottery in the bazaar the vendor had been running from. His head spun towards the noise and he rolled his eyes a moment before breaking into a run towards the plaza to see what had happened. And this day started out so quietly, he thought mournfully before he burst out of the alley and into the sunlight. A few yards away, he saw a burly man trying to untangle himself from a tarp and various shards of broken bowls and water jugs and a boy, about his age maybe, running towards the small crowd of onlookers.

The look of rage on the man's face when he finally emerged was enough to slightly startle even someone like Rick. He had lived in Cairo all his life and it took a lot to get to him. Then, red-faced, the brute followed after the boy. Rick took off hot on his heels. This was not going to end well, and he didn't want someone's death on his conscience this early on in the day.

Highly aware of the man chasing him, Ardeth ran through the crowd, using all the skills he had learned from his training to dodge and move unpredictably. Spotting a small alley, the boy glanced over his shoulder to make certain that his attacker wasn't following him, only to slam into someone else. Winded, the boy laid still on the ground, trying to get his breath back, then gracefully rose to his feet.

"My apologies," Ardeth said to the man he had run into, and turned to run again. A hand caught the collar of his tunic, and swung him around. The boy swallowed hard, and did his best to keep his face impassive as his attacker tightened his grip on the cloth.

His new attacker pulled him closer then, grasping his tunic firmly with both hands, lifted him off the ground entirely. Spit splattered onto Ardeth's face as the man shook him roughly. "You think you can simply apologize and walk away from me?" he bellowed.

Ardeth's eyes narrowed and he used the sleeve of his robe to wipe off his face. "Release me at once," he commanded, authority clear in his voice. His other hand crept towards his scimitar, as he prepared to defend himself. Then the giant from earlier finally found them, and came running up, panting and furious. Ardeth sighed. His trip to the city was not going very well.

With a look of irritation, the first thug walked over to the one holding Ardeth aloft. "Hand over the boy. I have first claim to him."

"Fah," the other man spat in his direction. "You can have him when I am finished teaching this boy a lesson."

The hue in the thug's face that had gone down slightly now that he had been able to catch his breath brightened again as he sputtered angrily. "That boy made a fool of me in the bazaar--"

"Pfft! That must have been a feat," the other said mockingly before turning to shake Ardeth again. More enraged by this man's words than even the gall Ardeth's people had to merely approach the gates of Cairo, the giant began to hurl all the vilest insults he knew upon him, insults which were returned in kind. Ardeth, still caught in the newcomer's tightly clenched fists, was in the crossfire as tempers began to rise.

"This is not good," Ardeth murmured in his native language, glancing between the two men. Still dangling several inches above the ground, the boy glanced around, trying to find some way out of this situation. Father will never allow me to leave the safety of the Garden city again- not until I’m old and wrinkled.

Rick, hearing the yelling, came to a screeching halt just shy the alley. Looking down the path, he saw the two thugs as they started to trade insults, apparently fighting over who had dibs on beating the boy to a bloody pulp. Stinks to be him, Rick thought as he tried to figure out what to do. They weren't that far down the narrow alleyway. He'd be able to get in there quickly, but the more pressing question was would he be able to escape again with the boy's hide and his own still somewhat intact?

There weren't many blunt or sharp objects to use as weapons, none that would be of use anyways. And he knew against two men, each roughly twice his weight and height; his fists wouldn't even be able to get one person out alive. The men started to get in each other's faces, Ardeth still trapped between. If he was going to do something, he had to do it now! That's when he saw it.

Alleys like this were almost always drenched in shadows, even during the day. But there were times of the day when some sunlight touched the space in between these two buildings. The awnings kept what little of the desert sun it could from filtering into the houses, bringing its oppressive heat with it. But at this hour, each of these awnings was rolled up against the wall by a line connected to a pulley and a small wooden hand crank. One such awning was behind the combatants.

Rick grabbed a small vase from the ground and chucked it at the fragile crank. The rotten old wood gave beneath the force of the blow, letting gravity pull the beam down and away from the wall, rotating around its pivot point to hit both brutes on the crown of their heads. Stunned momentarily, both grabbed their heads and yowled in pain. Ardeth fell to the ground also a little bewildered, his attackers' screams still ringing in his ears. Suddenly another hand grabbed him.

Frightened at having yet another person grab him, Ardeth threw himself into a backwards roll, coming up crouched and poised on the balls of his feet. He found himself facing a white boy not much older than he was. "Who are you?" he blurted, forgetting the lessons on how to make an impressive sight.

"Will you come on? We don't have time for that!" Rick urged. Not even waiting for a response, he yanked on his fistful of Ardeth's robe to half-drag him down the alley.

Stumbling after the other boy, Ardeth finally managed to catch his balance, and ran beside Rick, trying to get his robes free. In seconds, they were out of sight of the two men, and far into the depths of the dark alley.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, Rick saw the even darker shadows of a doorway. His mind raced with information he had garnered early on in his childhood exploring the back ways around Cairo's city streets. The family that lived here was out working for the British in an archaeological dig, so the house was empty. He skidded to halt and grabbed his companion's tunic, wrenching Ardeth inside and back to where Rick was between him and the doorway. He knew Ardeth could probably see well enough in the dark and motioned for him to stay low in the shadows as they waited for the two men to pass.

Immediately realizing what the plan was, Ardeth slipped out of his outer robes, tossing them over his companion's shoulder. The white shirt the other boy was wearing would stand out even in these dark shadows, and all of Ardeth's clothing was the traditional black they wore outside of the Garden City.

Rick looked at the robe, confused for a second, and then nodded his thanks. Hearing footsteps, both cringed even further away from the door. Rick had to concentrate for a moment before his heart rate and breathing began to slow. He noticed with a momentary hint of surprise that the other boy's breathing had already returned to normal.

Ardeth stayed very still, pressed against the doorway, and tilted his head slightly to let his hair fall forward, obscuring his face. The two men were still arguing loudly as they hurried through the alley, trying to find Ardeth again.

Not until the footsteps and raised voices passed and then receded into the distance did Rick relax from a crouching posture to more of a slump against the wall, sighing wearily. "Lucky for us, they were as dumb as they looked."

Ardeth stood as well, rubbing his arm from where the first man had grabbed him when this whole adventure began. He inclined his head to the other boy. "I thank you for helping me. You saved me from at least a beating, and possibly a murder attempt."

He nodded and then gave his companion a sideways look. "Yeah, well, not too many people in this town are too welcome to outsiders." He shrugged. “I should know.” He took a moment to peek out the door to make sure they were truly gone before, satisfied, he let himself slide to the ground.

"What is your name?" Ardeth asked, sitting down beside the older boy. In a few minutes, he would have to go look for the Med-jai warriors he was supposed to be with, but at the moment, he didn't feel like risking his life again by leaving this little sanctuary. "I am Ardeth Bey."

"Rick O’Connell," he answered, reaching out to shake his hand.

Clasping the other boy's hand, Ardeth smiled at him. "So, O’Connell, do you live in this place?" the boy asked, taking his robe back and sliding it on.

"Yeah, well, kinda. I stay at the orphanage over near the museum at the center of town." Rick watched to gauge Ardeth's reaction.

Ardeth nodded, and guessed from the look on Rick's face that the orphanage was a sensitive topic. So, with an effort, he reigned in his curiosity. "Why did you save me? Most people I met outside of my tribe care very little about others."

"Well," Rick's mouth quirked into a smile, "the first guy you ticked off?" Ardeth nodded. "He did the same thing to me about four years ago. Only no one came to my rescue." He shook his head ruefully. "Not a good memory to relive, either as the victim or the witness."

Ardeth winced in sympathy. "Yes, I think I can imagine. Well. I'm certain that the men I came into the city with are thoroughly alarmed by now at my disappearance. I ought to try to find them."

"Okay," Rick said as they stood, clasping his hand once again. "Hey, stay out of trouble," he said as a friendly farewell.

"You as well, my friend. Thank you again for your help." Ardeth strode briskly to the entrance of the alley and paused there, glancing around. He hoped to spot either of his two bodyguards, but couldn't see them. Instead, he caught the eye of one of the red-clad temple guards--the mortal enemies of the Med-jai. Ardeth groaned softly when he saw the man's eyes narrow. His face markings were as obvious as his black robes with silver markings. And the temple guard would know what the extra marking on Ardeth's forehead meant--that he was the son of the king of the Med-jai.

Muttering under his breath, the boy backed into the shadows of the alley, wondering what to do now.

A second after Ardeth had, Rick had left the apartment headed back the way he had come. It was almost time for lunch, and he had slipped away before breakfast so he wouldn't be ambushed by the local bullies who usually lay in wait for him. He wasn't too fond of the way they had targeted him of all the misfits raised in the orphanage. But he did tend to stick out like a sore thumb where ever he went. But he paused as he saw Ardeth standing at the head of the alley, then take a pace or two back. Without a sound, he walked closer to see why his new friend hesitated. Gazing over his shoulder, he saw the man in red robes. He couldn't explain why, but instantly, he became wary. He tapped Ardeth lightly on the shoulder. "Hey, who's that guy?"

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Ardeth took a shaky breath and clamped down on his fear. He restrained himself from rolling his eyes when he realized it was Rick who had surprised him. The older boy could certainly be quiet when he tried. "That man is one of the temple guards. Mortal enemies of my tribe."

Rick nodded. "Then I take it he wasn't one of the guys that came with you." From what he could tell of Bey, it seemed like his people didn't do anything without planning the matter through. "Did you have a spot to meet with them in case something went wrong?" Rick asked, though he had to wonder what was so important about Bey that he needed an escort.

Ardeth sighed. "No, they didn't have a chance to point out any landmarks to me before we were separated, and this is my first time in a city." Pushing his hair back away from his face, the boy considered the problem. "I will make my way back to the edge of the desert, where we left the horses."

"Wait," Rick said, gripping Ardeth's shoulder so he wouldn't walk away just yet. "If that guy is your 'mortal enemy', then it's no coincidence he's here the same day that you are. I've lived in this city all my life and I have never seen him or any of his kind here before. Isn't it possible that his buddies are outside the city waiting for you to come out?"

"That . . . complicates matters. If that is so, then it may not be a coincidence that I was separated from Amir and Falti-el." With a heavy sigh, the boy leaned against the wall.


	2. Fight

Rick recognized that look—the look of discomfort with the situation, but still taking everything in stride. Even now he could practically hear the wheels in Bey’s mind turning, trying to come up with a solution. Maybe they had more in common than he had originally suspected.

He looked down, sorting out the problem to himself before making any suggestions. "Well, I can think of two things we could do. One, I could go outside the city for you and try to find your friends for and bring them back in to get you. No one would think it odd if I went out there. That’s where I spend most of my time anyways. Or two, if that plan fails, you could stay at my place for the night. I know Father Duncan won't mind. You'll probably stick out as much as me, but it’ll be safe."

The temple guard headed towards the alley entrance, along with several more guards who materializing out of the crowd. Ardeth shook his head. "I think I'm going to have to fight them. I pray that they want a dead clan member, and not a hostage."

Grabbing him again and pulling him back, Rick tried to talk some sense into him in a calm manner. "No! Are you nuts? You can't fight four of them alone!"

"Do you have a better idea?" The boy asked tartly, hand tightening around his scimitar hilt. "I am open to suggestions, but it will not take them long to get here."

Rick was no coward, but he knew when the odds were too heavily stacked against him. Grabbing Bey and pushing him before him, he took off at a run down the alley. "We fall back to a more defensible position," he explained when Ardeth tried to shove past him. "You don't happen to have another one of those I could borrow, do you?" he said pointing to Ardeth's scimitar.

"No, but I do have a long dagger you can use until I retrieve one from the temple guards," Ardeth said, pulling it out of his robes. "Have you had any training in using a bladed weapon?" The boy asked, giving up on fighting Rick and letting the taller boy push him along.

“Yeah,” he replied irony in his voice as Ardeth pressed the hilt into his hand. “Not conventional training, and a little more of it that I’d like, but yeah.” Knife fights were the favorite pastime of the boys that waited for him outside the orphanage.

As they found a reasonably defensible spot in the alley, Ardeth turned to Rick and put a hand on his shoulder. "You do not have to do this, my friend. These men are not your enemies, and they will leave you alone if you are not with me."

Rick shook his head as took up a defensive posture at Ardeth's side. "Hey, I didn't save your skin just to let you die now."

Pulling out his scimitar, Ardeth scanned the area carefully, before the enemies arrived, to make certain he knew the ground. The boy pushed his hair back out of his face--the black curly mass was a pain to deal with in battle, but he didn't have anything to tie it back. For a moment, he considered taking off his outer robes, but remembered that the robes were excellent for helping prevent an enemy from being able to predict his next action.

The four temple guards came into sight, all holding swords, all ready, and grinning viciously at Ardeth.

Rick lunged first, slashing his dagger at one, trying to draw some of Ardeth's attackers. As mortal enemies, both their tribes and Ardeth were probably trained in each other's ways of combat. But they wouldn't know how he fought. He hoped the element of uncertainty he could add to the fight was enough to keep Bey from being overwhelmed. But then again, he realized this was not going to be as easy as street-fighting a group of teenage boys who had something to prove. These guys, he also noticed quickly, weren't as kind or foolish as to take turns attacking you.

With a yell in Arabic, Ardeth charged forward so that he was standing beside Rick, and began fighting with the men. "Together, my friend--we will do this together!"

While the two boys were nowhere near as tall or strong as the temple guards, they were fast, agile, and resilient. It also helped that the guards underestimated them–Rick was a foreigner, and Ardeth was still young enough that he wasn't supposed to have had much training yet. After a moment of fierce parrying, Ardeth managed to disarm one of the men, and tossed his sword to Rick.

Rick grabbed it in mid-air and used the momentum of his turn to swing at one of the red-clad guards, bringing it down in an arc with as much strength as he could without exposing his back. From what he saw of Ardeth's fighting out of the corner of his eye, he could tell their enemies had misjudged his abilities. They were losing ground. Then, a near-miss brought his attention back to his own opponent.

The self-taught boy didn't have as many tricks up his sleeve as Ardeth had; he started to let his swings lax in strength. Over-confidence, he had learned, was usually the first misstep one made in a struggle. He underestimated me before, Rick thought, let's see if I can get him to make the same mistake twice. In a fight, Rick usually maintained a concentrated look throughout the entire ordeal. So he let weariness show on his face. From the smile spreading across the guard's face, Rick could tell he had fallen for it. Letting himself be beaten back a few steps, he waited for an opening in his defenses. Then as the guard raised his sword for an overhead blow, Rick rolled between his legs, slashing at his ankles as he went. The man, caught completely off guard, fell to the ground with a coarse yell and onto his sword. Rick didn't have time to acknowledge his victory for the other Red Guard was on him as he came up from the roll, leaving each of the boys to battle their own enemy.

Seeing Rick's first opponent go down out of the corner of his eye, Ardeth grinned fiercely at his own enemy. The odds were even now--one adult facing each of the boys. The man was fighting cautiously now, treating Ardeth like he was a full Med-jai warrior. "How did you know that I would be here today?" The boy demanded, attacking suddenly and pushing the man back. They were edging away from where Rick was fighting the other temple guard, and Ardeth realized he need to be careful--there was nothing guarding his back now.

The guard sneered at Ardeth. "As if I am going to tell a weakling like you!" Though his voice was strong, his words rung hollow as Ardeth slowly backed him against the wall.

Moments later, the boy backed away from the crumpled form of the guard, jaw set. As a Med-jai, he understood the value of life, and it pained him to see it wasted so needlessly. Lifting his head, he turned to go see if Rick needed help.

Rick's arms felt as heavy as lead. As much experience as he had fighting in the streets of Cairo against various opponents, he had never battled men as strong and well-trained as these. The trick he had used on the first guard had not worked for the second, and now the ruse of tiring was coming a little too close to reality for comfort. And now the man had him against the other wall of the alley. Since he had limited space to maneuver, it didn't take long for the sword to be knocked from Rick’s hand and the dagger from the other a second after. Triumphant, the guard towered over him and grabbed the boy's throat in a firm grasp.

"You are not strong enough," he said, a smug smile on his face as his hand tightened like a vise around Rick’s neck. But he had not disarmed Rick O'Connell entirely. Rick's fist impacted into the man's chest with an astounding strength for someone so young. He dropped Rick, who twisted to avoid falling onto his own weapons.

The guard froze when he felt cold, wet metal against his throat. Ardeth stood just behind him, scimitar firmly held against the man's throat. "Drop you weapon and surrender, and I will allow you to live." The boy told him sternly, sparing a glance at Rick to make certain the older boy was all right.

Rick could only nod that he was okay. He coughed and gasped a lungful of air. Massaging his throat, he climbed to his feet to see the Red Guard scowl and drop his blade, muttering something that Rick strongly suspected was a curse in Arabic.

Ardeth raised an eyebrow at the man's language, but decided not to comment. "Move over to the wall, and place both your hands on it, over your head," he ordered. When the man hesitated, he pushed the tip of the blade a little harder.

"All right," the Red Guard growled back at the boy. "It is no surprise to me that you associate with this outsider," he said, his eyes flicking to Rick, "and speak in the tongue of the infidel."

Rick scoffed, amused that this man thought that this was an insult. He had been called much worse than that. The man called back over his shoulder, "But I am surprised that as a Med-jai you can even hold a blade upright- that’s more than I would expect from anyone else in your tribe."

Rick shook his head. Part of him cringed at the way the guard insulted Bey’s tribe, but he was also laughing inside. It's really not a good idea to insult someone who has you at their mercy. But then, I would probably do the same thing.

Furious, Ardeth took a deep breath, acknowledged his rage, and used it to help him focus. "I will pardon your slight upon the Med-jai this once, temple guard. I will not be so merciful again. Tell me, what orders were you given when you came to this city?"

"Why should I tell you, boy?"

"Um... maybe, because he has a knife at your throat?" Rick suggested, eyebrows raised. Does this guy really want to die? Rick wondered. But it really wouldn't surprise me if he did- it would likely be better than what Ardeth's buddies would do. Rick had never heard of the Med-jai, but he was positive that the feelings this temple guard had for Ardeth's kind were mutual.

The man glared at Rick, who only shrugged in reply.

Ardeth stepped closer to his prisoner, and then suppressed a sigh. Intimidation is so difficult when you are much shorter than the other person. Ardeth thought. I can, however, make use of the reputation my tribe has. "You know what tribe I am of, and what we will do to a guard that is entrusted to us. You know what the warriors of my people are capable of. Know this--I am just as capable as any of the Med-jai. Do not take my mercy for weakness. Now, I ask again--what were your orders?"

Letting out a long breath, the man's lip curled. "We were sent to kidnap you and hold you ransom for Hamunaptra."

Rick paused for a moment, his face twisted in confusion. "Wait.... what?"

"In a moment, my friend," Ardeth said. How can I possibly explain this without giving away too much? "How many of you are there in the city? And did you do anything to my escort?"

The man smiled evilly. "There are more of us, but how many more I will not tell you. And what escort? You have no escort." His voice carried grim satisfaction.

Closing his eyes tightly, Ardeth hoped the man was lying or mistaken. But for now, he would have to assume that his bodyguards had been killed. "How did you know that I would be in the city today?"

"We have our allies, even among your ranks," he purred. Even with his back to the boy, he could feel the anger rolling off the Med-jai prince. He turned his head as much as he could to face Bey a little more. "I want you to know that your guards died like the cowards that they were."

At that, Ardeth couldn't contain his rage, and slammed the hilt of his sword into the man's head, knocking him out. As much as the man deserved death, Ardeth couldn't kill someone in cold blood. "You mean, you stabbed them in the back like the cowards you are!" The boy turned away, almost sobbing in rage and grief.

Rick took a step toward Ardeth. From his friend's reaction to the guard's statement about the escort, he could tell that these men had been very close to him. O'Connell stood before him and gripped his friend’s shoulders to support him. "You gonna be okay?"

"I will have to be. We should get away from here before he wakes up." Swallowing hard, the boy focused on what needed to be done at the moment and vowed to consider everything that had happened later once he was safely back in the Garden City. "Is there a safe place near here where I can hide for a bit? I need to come up with a plan."

"Well," Rick tilted his head. "I'd offer the orphanage, but I couldn't say that's necessarily safe for you since you’ve been seen 'associating with an infidel.’" Rick racked his brain for a place they would never think to find Ardeth. "Is there a type of place that a Med-jai would not be caught dead in?"

Ardeth's lips quirked up in a slight smile. "I do not know. That is one of the things I am supposed to be learning today. I know there are allies to my tribe somewhere in this city, but I do not know how to find them."

Rick thought hard. We’d stick out in a bar- if we could even get in, Rick thought. The door guard knew him too well from past attempts. All he could think of was the one place he wouldn't be caught dead, and since they would probably be asking about him around the city, that would have to do.

"Follow me," Rick said, with a wave of his arm.

"Where exactly are we going?" Ardeth asked, looking up from finishing cleaning his scimitar. He sheathed it, hoping it wouldn't attract as much attention that way.

“You’ll see.”

Rick led the way as they snaked along back ways and alleys wherever possible, making their way towards the heart of the city and the Museum of Antiquities.

Rick came to a dead stop. He pushed Ardeth back into the shadows and up against the wall as two more red guards passed through the street they had been about to cross. Once they rounded a corner and went out of sight, Rick pointed to the building across the way.

Two ancient obelisks dominated the impressive stone building. Frowning statues as tall as the roof stood on either side of the door like silent sentinels.

"In there," Rick answered, looking disgusted. "It's at least the last place anyone would think to look for me, and that might buy us some time." He scanned the street to make sure no red guards would catch them by surprise, and then motioned for Ardeth to follow. Rick strolled into the museum, as casual as a cat.


	3. Refuge

Curious, Ardeth followed his friend in, glancing around at the ancient artifacts with some trepidation. In my experience, ancient things are best left in the ground. But he couldn't sense anything overtly evil, so he tried to relax. "Why do you dislike this place so much, O’Connell?"

"Well, uh-" Rick shook his head, almost unable to explain it himself. "History's just—just never really been my thing."

Leading Ardeth through the entryway, Rick wove around the artifacts and tried to put his feelings into words. "Every experience,” he began, speaking slowly, “Every experience I have with 'history' has been, uh, memorable.” Rick paused and closed his eyes for a moment. Deep sorrow etched itself onto his face. “Sometimes the past should just stay in the past."

Ardeth nodded solemnly. "I apologize for causing you to remember sorrowful things, my friend."

They entered a different room and Ardeth saw something that made his heart hammer. Without thought, his scimitar was in his hand and poised to defend against the mummy.

Rick looked over at him, confused. "What?" Now all his senses were on alert and he brandished his fists expecting to be assaulted by more red guards, but there was no one. He spun around. What am I missing? I don’t see anything. "What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Ardeth straightened from his crouch and returned his scimitar to his belt. "The mummy on display . . . startled me, badly," he said, heart pounding from the adrenaline rush. It didn’t help to see that mummies filled the room .

Rick glanced at the mummy that Ardeth had fixed his eyes on. "What—that thing?" It doesn’t look too scary to me- but it is really twisted. "Yeah, it is pretty ugly."

He looked back at Ardeth, who seemed to be counting the number of mummies in the room, determined to be aware the instant that number changed. Rick’s face belied none of the suspicion he felt. There was something more to this he didn't think Bey would tell him—surely he wasn't afraid of a roomful of dead guys, growing up in a desert tribe.

Though he was extremely grateful that none of these mummies were alive, Ardeth hoped they would remain dead. He had been unfortunate enough to witness a mummy attack in his first month of duty in protecting the ancient evil places, and though it was almost a year ago, he still had nightmares about it.

"What are the other chambers of this place like?" he asked, turning to Rick, but still watching the mummy out of the corner of his eye.

Rick nodded and led the way. "There's a library in the next room." He laughed when a sudden thought occurred to him. Turning to Ardeth, and looking quite pleased with himself, he said, "There's a girl who works here, and when Father Duncan makes me come here, I switch around as many of the books as I can without anyone seeing. It just bugs the snot out of her!" He peeked into the room to make sure she was not there before venturing in.

Ardeth snickered. "I do similar things to some of my cousins, but not with the library. That is my father's domain, and to mess that up invites certain death. I switched all of my cousins' clothing once--it took them weeks to sort it out, and even longer to figure out that it was I who did it. They have yet to stop trying to beat me because of it," he confessed, grinning.

Rick stifled a laugh. He looked around again, but she was no where in sight.

"There's this big stone tablet of hieroglyphics upstairs. She'll sit in front of it for hours at a time, reading it, so we shouldn't be found as long as we keep off to the side somewhere. The care taker walks through once in a while, but he never goes over there." He pointed to some smaller bookcases across the room.

As they walked over, Rick picked up a book without looking. Without turning, he held it aloft. "This one's her favorite."

"Do you watch her that often, then?" Ardeth asked, taking the book to see if he could make out the title. Glancing at the shelves, he saw that there was a great deal of material here that very few outside of the Med-jai would be able to read, let alone understand.

"Hey, it's the only fun thing to do around here," Rick said .his tone mischievous, but inside he wondered, ‘Watch her that often?’ Do I? He shook his head. He needed to focus on finding a more permanent solution to their current situation.

He sat on the floor in front of the bookcase against the wall, picking his spot carefully. He was hidden by the next bookcase just enough to not be noticed immediately, but he also had enough of a view to see the two entrances.

Ardeth nodded at Rick. "You choose your locations wisely. Do you have a lot of experience with this?" He asked, settling himself completely behind one of the bookshelves. His tattoos and robes made him a little too distinctive to remain in the open at all.

Rick smiled. "Maybe. You sound like you have a few experiences under your belt yourself."

Smiling back at the other boy, Ardeth shrugged slightly. "My tribe is a tribe of warriors--I have been raised as such." His smile fading, the boy drew his legs to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, leaning back against the solid wood shelf. "I wish my falcon was here, but he is still too young for such a long journey, so I left him at home."

Rick's smile vanished also as he saw the pain Ardeth had felt in the alleyway begin to resurface. He wanted to change the subject and get him to smile again, but they had to figure out what they were going to do first. Once they had a solution, maybe then he would be able to get the other boy to smile again. He knew he would have to be careful with his questions. "So, how far away is your home? Is it possible for the two of us to get there without being discovered along the way?"

"No, I am sure the temple guards are watching all of the ways out of the city--they have probably discovered the horses by now. Actually, that might be a good thing--if anyone who is not Med-jai tries to move one of our horses, the horse will return home, if possible." Determined not to think about what had happened to his two companions, the boy absently traced the markings on his left wrist with his other hand. "My home is many days' journey away on a swift horse. I can find my way there, but not without some provisions. And not while being hunted."

Rick wasn't about to let the younger boy go by himself. There was something about this whole situation that told him that Ardeth Bey for some reason was a high profile target for these guys in red, even among "Med-jai"--whatever that was. He didn't feel comfortable with letting him go at all; he'd rather wait until reinforcements came to get him. But they may not have that long. And besides, he had no access to horses or supplies.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?"

Rick looked up to see a young girl standing behind the bookcase in front of him, an annoyed expression on her face. He made an effort at a smile, but couldn’t quite erase the guilt that surfaced whenever he saw her.

"Evie," he greeted nervously, but his weak smile disappeared when she continued to glare at him. Rick noticed with relief that she seemed not to have seen Ardeth, hidden from her sight by the bookcase.

She tapped her foot impatiently, her hands placed squarely on her hips. "Give.... it.... back," she demanded between clenched teeth. Rick looked at her questioningly for a second before she pointed to her book in his hand. His face twisted in frustration at himself for doing something so stupid out of habit. He slapped his forehead with the book, much to the dismay of the young librarian who began to rush forward to rescue her treasure from his abusive hands. Seeing her start forward, he forced himself to stop thumping the book, stand and offer it to her as quickly as he could to keep her from getting any closer and discovering Ardeth.

"Look Evelyn, I'm sorry--" he began to apologize as she snatched her book from his hands. But by then she started yelling at him.

"You think you can just tramp in here and start messing up my bookshelves, wreaking havoc, and leaving me to clean up the mess, Mr. O'Connell? Well, you're gravely mistaken!" Clutching the book to her chest she started to make her way out of the library. Rick had almost begun to breath a sigh of relief before he heard her call back over her shoulder, "I'm going to have Dr. Bey ban you from the museum!" Rick's eyes widened in panic. Getting an adult involved was the last thing the boys needed right then

"Dr. Bey?" Ardeth asked, standing and moving out from behind the shelf. "I would very much like to meet this Dr. Bey," he said, hoping that this man who shared his family name would indeed be one of his uncles, sent to keep an eye on the outside world.

Evie yelped, startled by the sudden appearance of another person. She took a moment to regain her poise before looking over the newcomer and returning her glare to Rick. "So you actually have someone willing to put up with your antics, Mr. O'Connell?" Rick threw his fists up in the air and rolled his eyes angrily. She turned back to Ardeth. "Well you shall meet him, whether you wish to or not." And with that she turned on her heels and stormed away to the curator's office. Rick slowly slid his hand down his face, exasperated.

"Man, that girl drives me nuts!" he said. Then he turned to Ardeth in confusion. "What are you doing, asking to see him?? We're supposed to keep a low profile and make it out of Cairo alive!"

Ardeth turned to Rick, hiding his amused grin at the other boy's reaction to the librarian. "Many years ago, when I was a small child, some of my uncles left the tribe to travel to cities and learn what they could of the outside world. I am hoping that this Dr. Bey is one of my uncles. If not, then I do not know what else to do."

Upon hearing his reasons, Rick sighed and nodded. He hoped that Ardeth’s suspicion was right. Dr. Bey could be very harsh at times, and he didn't want another tongue lashing today. He involuntarily held his breath and had to resist taking a step behind Ardeth as Evie escorted the curator in, clamoring and gesturing wildly at Rick.

"Dr. Bey?" Ardeth asked quietly, interrupting Evie and taking a half step forward. He was focused on the older man, not certain if he knew him or not--he had barely been five when his uncles left the Garden City. It was a struggle to get the ritual words out. "I am a stranger in this land, and I have lost my way."

The curator smiled. When Med-jai wanted to identify each other or their allies, the first one would say "I am a stranger, traveling from the east, seeking that which is lost." The boy had gotten the phrase wrong, but he would know Ardeth Bey, prince of the Med-Jai anywhere. He was the spitting image of his father. "I am a stranger traveling from the west; it is I whom you seek." he recited the other half of the phrase. Then, to keep up the act for Evelyn's sake at least, he looked at Ardeth and Rick sternly. "I want to see you two in my office, now." Rick groaned, already forgetting that he had heard that phrase somewhere before. He had been about to answer with the reply but Dr. Bey had beaten him to it. Now, all he could think of was how smug Evie was going to be now that he was, as she was so often telling him, "going to get what was coming to him."

As the curator whirled and stormed off, Ardeth grabbed Rick's arm and tugged him along. "Relax. He's one of my relatives," the boy whispered, glancing over his shoulder to see Evie watching them go, a smug expression on her face.

Rick looked at Ardeth. "You sure?" When his friend nodded, Rick turned back to give Evie an equally smug grin, which confused and irritated her greatly, much to his delight. Once he got them into his office, Dr. Bey turned to face the window that looked out on Egypt. Without turning, he spoke. "What do you have to say for your friend?" He turned to see Ardeth's response. His nephew would know he was asking if he felt O'Connell could be trusted enough to speak of the situation openly in his presence. What he had seen of the boy while he had been here was that Rick was ruffian, quick to get into trouble, and Terrence wasn't quite sure how to take his new found friendship to his brother's son.

"Rick O'Connell saved my life twice since I entered the city." Ardeth told Terrance gravely, flashing a smile at Rick. "He has shown great kindness to a complete stranger."

Dr. Bey raised his eyebrows as he too looked at Rick, seeing him now in a different light. Had he misjudged the boy? "Well then, Mr. O'Connell, you have my deepest thanks and that of Ardeth Bey's father, I am sure." He returned his attention to his nephew. "I was most concerned when I saw the number of red guards combing the streets. I am glad you are safe. How did they find out that you were to visit the city today?"

"I do not know for certain. The one we questioned said that the temple guards have allies within the ranks of the Med-Jai." Ardeth sighed softly as he met his uncle's eyes. "I can only assume that someone at home discovered where Father was sending me, and sent out word with a falcon. Even I was not informed of where we were going until after we had checked up on several of the protected areas."

A look came over Dr. Bey's face, an expression almost never worn by the Med-jai. Fear. The expression lasted only for a moment and then his eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. If what Ardeth said was not wrong, which was doubtful, as Ardeth was as keenly perceptive as his father, then the traitor had to be among the highest ranks of their tribe. He nodded at Ardeth. "You have done well, discovering this information on your own and making it here unscathed. I shall have to see to your immediate return to the Garden City. This city is not safe for you until the spy in our midst has been found."

"No, it is not safe, but traveling is not safe either. From what he said, my escorts were murdered, and I have no doubt that the horses we left outside the city have been killed or taken away." Ardeth paced over to the window, staring out it, forcing his grief back once more.

Rick watched the two desert tribesmen as they tried to figure out what best course of action to take, thinking through the possibilities in his head. The city was under siege by a bunch red-robed berserkers that would doubtless leave no stone unturned, it would take too long for reinforcements to come and sneak Ardeth out, and they couldn't hide forever. "We could hide someplace they've already searched or try to disguise Ardeth and sneak him out of the city," Rick offered even though he wasn't sure how well Dr. Bey would take his intrusion into the conversation.

"That might work. However, we do not know where they have already searched yet." Terrance considered his nephew for a moment--every inch of the boy radiated that he was a proud desert warrior, a Med-jai. Any disguise would be difficult to accomplish, especially with the facial markings.

Ardeth stepped away from the window quickly when he saw one of the red guards glancing up at the museum.

Terrence regarded the temple guard with a friendly nod to allay his suspicions. Scowling the guard turned away.

"What if we somehow convince the red guards that Ardeth has already made it safely back home?" Rick wondered out loud. He turned to Dr. Bey. “Is there a way you can send a message through to your tribe to arrange "sightings" of Ardeth returning to the city. If the traitor thinks he somehow made it safely back to the protection of your home, they would call their people back from the city to organize a new plan to kidnap Ardeth. That would give us room enough to escape from Cairo without being detected."

"That is an excellent suggestion, young O'Connell. We will have to change it slightly, though. Tell me, nephew, have you begun the sacred duty yet?"

Ardeth met Terrance's eyes and nodded once. "I completed my second month of duty a few weeks ago, at one of the lesser sites. You intend to send word to one of the protected sites for them to send word to the city that I made it safely there?"

This must be top-secret stuff, Rick thought, wondering if he should excuse himself. He was still curious about what Hamunaptra was, but in the back of his mind, he got the suspicion that he wasn't supposed to know. That or it was going to take a while before Ardeth felt comfortable sharing this information with an outsider.

"Yes, that is my plan. However, we will have to wait until morning--the closest site is too far away from here for you to reach before morning. I will send out my falcon at dawn with the message, to my wife's brother. He is trustworthy, and he will arrange for a falcon to be sent to your father."

Nodding in agreement, Ardeth pushed a hand through his tangled hair, and glanced apologetically at Rick. "I do not know if you will be a target now, O'Connell, for being seen with me. Three of the guards that attacked us are dead, but I do not know if the last one will tell them about you when he awakens and finds his way to his companions."

Rick chuckled. "I've been the target for most of my life. Granted, it was just bullies at the orphanage and street thugs, but don't worry, it's not going to be as much of a change than you think."

Ardeth grinned at him. Then, the younger boy looked both surprised and mortified when his stomach let out a loud growl, and blushed.

Rick laughed and fished around in his pocket for some jerky he kept on his person in case he missed meal times at the orphanage. He handed a large piece over to Ardeth then began eat some himself. "That'll tide us over for now."

Just then there was a knock at the door. After opening the door Terrence stepped back to let Evie in. She looked over at O'Connell obviously disappointed that she hadn't heard Dr. Bey yelling at him as she had approached the door. Rick gave her one of his confident grins. Evie rolled her eyes, then turned to Terrence. "Dr. Bey, there are some men at the door and they wish to see you."


	4. Discussions in a Dark Place

"Are they wearing red robes?" Rick asked, his expression changing to serious so rapidly that it startled her.

Confused and annoyed, she replied, "Yes, but I was speaking to Dr. Bey." But then everybody started moving and she got caught in the shuffle. Rick moved over to Ardeth's side, ready to follow him, and Dr. Bey moved over to a small filing cabinet.

"Thank you Miss Carnahan, please be so kind as to let them in." She nodded and walked out closing the door behind her. Rick turned on Dr. Bey, horrified. He had seen what these men could do.

"You send her to let them in? Are you nuts? They could kill her!"

But Dr. Bey cut his protests off quickly. "They will have no reason to. She is too accommodating to be worth their time. I have fought these men all my life; I know how they think." Then he pressed a button under his desk. A small grating noise came from the bookcase against the wall as it moved aside, revealing a small crawl space. "Go," he said shoving them both in as quickly as he could. "I'll come back for you when it is safe."

"Be careful, uncle," Ardeth called over his shoulder, as the door to the secret passage swung shut. In the darkness, Rick heard the boy sigh, and settle against the wall. "We may be here a while, so best get comfortable."

"Yeah?" Rick chuckled ruefully. "How?"

There was a breath of quiet, then the Med-jai laughed quietly. "I don't know. I can sit upright, just barely--you'll have to slouch a little, though. I hope you didn't have anywhere you're supposed to be for a little while."

"Just my history lesson with Father Duncan," Rick grinned as he thought of the look on the priest's face when he realized he was absent from class.... again. "Thank you for getting me out of it!" he said quietly to Ardeth as if they were playing hooky instead of being on the run for their lives all day.

"Is history so horrible, then?" Ardeth asked, and then paused, considering the many meanings in that statement. Releasing a quiet sigh into the darkness, he was very glad that this little cubby was soundproofed--it would be horrible to have to remain quiet while trapped in the darkness.

Rick didn't answer immediately. "My parents loved history. It was what brought us out here,” he hesitated a moment trying to keep his voice even before continuing. "That's when they got sick..." His voice trailed off.

Groping around in the dark for a moment, Ardeth finally found Rick's wrist, and clasped it gently. "My apologies, O'Connell." The younger boy's voice was quiet, and sad.

“Nothing to apologize for," Rick said shaking his head. "Things like that happen. At least I don't have someone who's constantly telling me when I should go to bed, or eat my food, or do my studies..." No, he couldn't even finish that. His shoulders gave a slight shudder as he pushed back down the knowledge that he would have gladly accepted a bedtime or extra homework if it could bring them back even for just a second.

Ardeth's hand tightened on his wrist. "My mother died when I was born. I still have my father, and many other relatives, but often I have thought that I would do almost anything just to get to meet her. I apologize for bringing back difficult memories, my friend."

"We all have our own scars." he said, thinking about how the red guard had told him that his body guards had been killed. He paused thinking, now might be a good time to change the subject. He finally worked up the courage to ask the question that had been gnawing at his mind since they fled the red guards this morning. "Hey, what is Hamunaptra?"

Ardeth sighed heavily--he had been expecting this for some time. "Hamunaptra is an evil place. I cannot tell you much about it, but I can tell you this--there is a great evil sleeping there. There are those who wish to awaken it, and my people are sworn to prevent that from happening." The boy sighed again, and winced a little at the unintentionally stern tone he had used. It sounded exactly like his father.

Rick hadn't noticed it. He was trying to piece together bits of information in his mind. "So, your arch-enemies want to hold you for ransom in exchange for this place?" It still didn't make much sense to him, but he didn't want to ask too many questions. He got the feeling Ardeth had already told him a good deal more than he was supposed to.

“Yes—the guards think that my people would surrender that evil place for me. They are wrong. We have defended Hamunaptra for many generations, and no one person is worth letting that evil awaken.”

"Yeah, that's another thing. Why are they after you? Who are you?"

The younger boy swallowed, and sighed. "I am the son of the king of my people. I am the only heir right now, since all of my cousins are girls."

Well, that would certainly explain why they were after him. Rick shook his head. All this time, I've been pushing a prince all over Cairo. I'm glad he's as understanding as he is. Suddenly Ardeth's behavior all day began to make more and more sense, why he did not allow himself to kill out of vengeance. That was why he let the guard go. He was impressed. He had been about ready to kill the guy for him. "But why would they want to awaken this evil? Wouldn't it be bad for them too?"

"They are ignorant to how powerful it is. They believe that they can control it, or they will serve it and be spared. Instead, they will be utterly consumed, and the world condemned because of them." Ardeth told him, hoping desperately that the other boy would treat him the same. He hated being treated differently just because of who his father was.

Rick nodded his head. Sometimes the logic of the enemy blew his mind. "You just gotta love how they never think things through." His stomach was starting to growl this time, so he pulled out the package of jerky and broke off another couple of pieces for Ardeth and for himself. "Actually, I'm kind of glad I missed meal time today," he thought out loud as he remembered of what had been planned for lunch today.

Ardeth smiled into the darkness, grateful for the change of subject. "Why is that?" he asked, gratefully accepting the meat. Fighting always took a great deal of energy, and the scare from the mummies certainly hadn't helped.

Rick chuckled, as he thought fondly of his guardian. "Sometimes I think Father Duncan has convinced himself that he is a master chef. He becomes inspired, and then he throws together some new recipes that are unfit for consumption by humans. But no one at the orphanage has the heart to tell him how bad it is."

"That is an interesting thought. I am often subjected to my cousins' cooking attempts, but they have recipes they are supposed to follow. What do you do when your Father Duncan makes these meals?"

"Usually I fake sickness, though it's really not that far a stretch."

Laughing quietly, Ardeth pressed himself up against the very back wall, and lay down, curling up on his side. "I should try that the next time Latifa tries to feed me some concoction--I honestly think she's trying to poison me sometimes."

"Well, you know girls," Rick said laughing. Then he quieted down quickly as he remembered Evie. Sometimes she drove him clear out of his skull, but he didn't want her to be anywhere near those temple guards. He listened as well as he could trying to catch her voice to see if she was alright, but since the walls of the passage were sound-proofed, he could not make anything out.

"Are you all right?" Ardeth asked, pulling his knees against his chest to give Rick more room. "Hopefully my uncle will be able to get rid of the guards soon."

"Yeah," he said, though his voice was still distant. I can just see her now. One of those hulks tears one little page or dents the cover of a book in her beloved collection, and she'll fly down and begin to beat them to death with it. And then the whole posse'll jump her. But Rick hadn't realized that he had been thinking aloud.

"This is Evie you're talking about?" Ardeth asked, voice cutting through the darkness and startling the older boy.

At that moment, Rick was glad for the darkness. If anyone let alone his best friend saw him blush, he might die. He tried to brush it off or explain it sufficiently, but nothing he thought of sounded right in his head. "She's so accident prone and has really bad luck. She may irritate me but I worry about her. And if it's tough enough for me to put up with, what are those goons in red gonna do to her?"

“I doubt that the temple guards will do anything to her. They do not dare attract too much attention to themselves, and attacking an innocent girl will certainly bring them the wrong kind of attention. Also, my uncle is out there—he won’t allow anything to happen to her. We are, after all, the Med-jai, the sacred protectors of mankind.”

"Good," Rick said nodding. He still wanted to make sure she was ok when they got out, but Ardeth's word had reassured him. He wondered how long it would take for them to search the museum and move on to the next target.

Holding back a yawn, Ardeth shivered lightly in the cool stone chamber. "This is certainly not how I expected my first visit to a city to go. If a visit to the city is this bad, what will happen next year when Father sends me over the sea to England?"

Rick laughed inwardly. Yeah this would figure for his first trip to the city. "I don't know. I've never been to England. When we get out, you can ask Evie about it. She and her brother are from England. Though I have warn you, once you ask her about it she just won't shut up. She's almost as nuts about England as she is about ancient Egypt." He groaned as he remembered the first time he had made the mistake of asking her a question about the subject. But he guessed that aside from Dr. Bey, she never got to talk to anyone about it.

"Well, I will have to do that. Father decided that I need to go to one of the English universities to further my education on the outsiders who have come into our land. Yet there is very little any of our people know about England itself, and I would rather be prepared."

Rick agreed. "Well, I doubt there would be any red guards there, at least."

At that, the younger boy laughed. "No, I'm afraid there will be. Just as the Med-jai have tribesmen scattered throughout the world to watch for rising evil, so the temple guards have cults everywhere, trying to find some way through the Med-jai protection."

"Of course," Rick said throwing his hands up in the air, letting his head fall back against the wall. "Figures."

Laughing quietly, the younger boy started feeling the walls around him. "There might be a peephole somewhere in here--see if you can find it. Just be careful it's not the trigger to open the door."

Rick began to run his hand gently along the wall. Yeah that would be consistent with our luck. He found a small square cut into the wood. He let his fingers rest there a moment, trying to analyze what they told him. He didn't do this often, so it took him a moment to think of what qualities he should be looking for. It was about the right size for a peephole. Square though. And it was rough, definitely not glass. "Uh, I think I just found the button for the door. At least we'll know where it is, in case we need it."

"That's a good thing to know--I would not want to be trapped in here. The peephole should be near the release for the door." Ardeth told him, cautiously getting onto his hands and knees and moving towards Rick.

Once Ardeth got over there, Rick carefully guided his hands to feel where the switch was. Making as strong a mental note as he could of where the button was, his fingers traced away to the nearby parts of the wall.

Straightening a little after memorizing where the door release was, Ardeth winced as he cracked his head against the low ceiling. "I believe the ceiling is lower than it was," he murmured, rubbing his head. "Either that, or I've grown a bit in the past few minutes."

Rick's eyes widened, his heart rate jumping up a notch. "Are hide-aways supposed to do that?" He asked trepidation in his voice. His fingers quickly tracing their way back to the button his mind had already labeled "DO NOT PUSH." "Why would your uncle build a hide-away designed to kill the people it's supposed to protect? And what if our friends are still outside?"

In the darkness, Ardeth found Rick's shoulder, and grasped it firmly. "The ceiling is not lowering, my friend--I am sorry I alarmed you. I have been told my sense of humor isn't always appreciated. I bumped my head, that is all."

Immediately, Rick's fingers pulled back from the button he had just found. Inhaling deeply, he felt thoroughly embarrassed. Never in his life, even a life on the streets of Cairo, had he been through as much as he had in one day, and the strain was starting to show. "Okay, I'm ready for a break." He leaned back a little further into the space. He wanted to wait until the shake of the adrenaline rush left his fingers before he went back to searching the wall for the peep hole, afraid he might accidentally open the passage way and reveal their hiding place to the red guards.

Ardeth scooted closer to Rick, still holding his shoulder--the human contact was a welcome distraction from the darkness. "I apologize, O'Connell--I did not mean to alarm you."

"No I'm okay, I've..." Rick shook his head, disgusted with himself. "I've just never panicked like that before. I'll be fine once we're out in the open again." He gave a tired chuckle. "I prefer to run in the open. That way I have more options available."

"I understand, my friend--it's difficult to be in such an enclosed space after the freedom of the desert. I much prefer the desert and my home--there are far too many buildings and people cluttering up cities." Ardeth declared firmly, and decided to keep hold of Rick for now, as much for his own sake as that of the other boy.

Just at that moment there was a small grating sound. Rick's head turned to see the passage door sliding away. He quickly got into a crouch, fists ready.


	5. The Duel

“Come on out, boys.”

Shielding his eyes against the light, Ardeth slid as close to the door as he could with Rick between him and the opening. After a moment, his eyes adjusted, and he caught the reassuring sight of his uncle crouching before him.. "Are they gone, uncle?"

"Yes, they've gone." Dr. Bey rose to his feet, moved aside, and clasped his hands before him.

"Good." Rick crawled out and stood aside. He stood tall, stretching his stiff legs with a groan. “Finally.”

Ardeth scrambled out of the cubby and stood, with less than his usual grace. He was extraordinarily grateful to be out of the hole. "Do you believe the guards will be back, uncle, or are we safe here for now?"

"While they were here they searched every room twice," his uncle assured him. "You are safe here for now."

"Yeah, I thought as much," Rick said. Of course, they would have been stupid not to.

"I'll have Miss Carnahan run to market and bring you back something to eat."

Oh, she'll love that. Rick frowned, but he wasn't about to object out loud. He knew that he and Ardeth were both hungry and wouldn't be able to run forever on his stash of beef jerky.

Ardeth inclined his head in gratitude, then paused. On the younger boy's face was the first glimpse of uncertainty that Rick had seen. "Uncle? There are many of the creatures here--do they ever stir?"

Dr. Bey gazed at his nephew understandingly. He had received news the day that they had undergone the attack by mummies. "They could, but have not as long as I have been posted here. That is part of why I took this position- so that any awakening could be dealt with quickly. But with red guards in the city I have put countermeasure protections in place."

Rick scratched at his thick brown hair. 'Creatures?’ More things I'm not supposed to know, I guess. But that look on Ardeth's face when he asks about these creatures tells me they can't be anything good.

Slowly, the boy nodded. "Things are stirring--I can feel it. Something is going to happen, soon, that will change everything."

Okay, this time I can’t keep quiet, or I’ll burst. Rick looked from Dr. Bey to Ardeth and back again. "Stirring? Protective countermeasures? I thought you said the evil was in Hamunaptra, not here. What do you expect to fight in here? The only things in here are musty old tomes, a few statues here and there, and a room full of....." his voice trailed off as he saw the looks Ardeth and Terrence were giving him.

Ardeth shook his head slightly. "Please, my friend, there are many things that I can not tell you. Just--the greatest evil lies in Hamunaptra, but there is evil, to some extent, everywhere."

"And here too?" he guessed. "I know you can't tell me everything. But I just need to know what I'm up against so I’m ready to fight. If you aren't allowed to give me an answer, that's all right. But I have to ask: What are we going to be fighting?"

"Right now, just the temple guards," the boy said, with a shrug, and shivered slightly. "If, as I fear, they are woken up--we will have to fight the undead."

Rick's eyes went wide for a moment. But then disbelief was replaced with revelation. A scene flashed to his mind: Ardeth first stepping into the museum, and his drawn sword. He had said the mummies startled him. So that's why he didn't want to stay in that room. A couple years ago he would have laughed at this notion, but since that time he had seen a number of unexplainable things- things that still haunted him in the dead of the night. As he heard Ardeth's grim words, a chill went down his spine that confirmed its veracity. His expression changed to grave comprehension.

Turning to glance out the window, Ardeth stayed to the side of it so that he wasn't visible to the people below. "It is nearly sunset, uncle. The marketplace will be closing soon."

Dr. Bey nodded to his nephew. "Miss Carnahan and I will prepare the meal. I want you to stay here in my office until I come back. No need to take any risks of one of their informants to see you wandering about the exhibits. I shall return shortly." He closed and locked the door behind him, leaving Ardeth and Rick alone in the room.

Ardeth went over to one of the shelves, and began examining an ornately decorated scimitar. "It's quite nice to be able to move around again, isn't it?" he asked, over his shoulder, with a slight grin. After a moment, he took off his outer robe and draped it over the back of a chair, then took down the sword and began going through some training forms with it.

"You can say that again." Rick stretched his neck and back a little more. "That was impressive back in the street- how you disarmed those guards so quickly."

"I've had more training than most Med-jai my age, because of my father. The guards are familiar with our training schedule, so it's only natural that they underestimated me. You did quite well yourself. Have you had any formal training with a blade?"

Rick smiled and cocked his head to one side. "Not unless your definition of ‘formal’ includes being the target of gang fights. But one of the older soldiers from Fort Brydon saw me in a fight one day and told me that he was going to teach me everything he knew. So I guess I must have something to impress him, even though I lost that one."

Ardeth nodded. "Necessity is indeed a great teacher. Usually we are trained with many fighting against one, to teach self-reliance." Suddenly, the younger boy grinned. "Would you like to have a short duel?"

Rick laughed. "Oh I've seen enough of you in a fight to know I'd be no match for you." But his smile belied how eager he was to accept the challenge. After a second more of hesitation, he moved to stand opposite of his friend. "I'll try to present something of a challenge. Weapon of choice?"

Grinning eagerly, Ardeth put his uncle's scimitar down and pulled his own from his belt, presenting it to Rick with a formal half-bow. "I would be honored if you would use my scimitar for this event."

Rick returned the bow as he accepted the blade. It was beautiful. The blade shone, reflecting the flames of the room’s oil lamps distributed and even the last rays of orange sunlight. “I’ve never seen one so well-cared for,” he murmured, and tested its weight in his hands. “It’s heavier than it looks.”

To gain a feel for it in motion, he tried a few practice swings, even though he knew he would not truly have a respect for the weapon until testing it in battle.

Ardeth laughed, and ducked away as one swing got a little too close to his hair. He snatched up his uncle's scimitar--it was an adult's weapon, so much heavier and slightly longer than his, but he had used his father's scimitar many times. "What boundaries would you like in place?"

Looking up, Rick grinned. “Well, I'm not used to opponents who have boundaries at all, but I'd say we'll probably need all our limbs intact for tomorrow. What are the limits you usually place on your duels?"

"No killing, no crippling blows, no destroying the terrain, points to whoever gets first blood, winner at an acknowledged lethal blow," Ardeth rattled off the list rapidly. "Are those acceptable to you?"

Yeah, Dr. Bey might hand us over the red guards personally if we destroy any of the artifacts in here. "Quite acceptable." He assumed a defensive stance, trying to remember all the moves he had seen Ardeth had used in the street that morning.

Inclining his head in acknowledgement, the younger boy lunged forward in a neat attack, using the longer blade of the adult scimitar to make up for the height difference between the two boys.

Rick sidestepped to the left as he batted at Ardeth's blade with his own. Using the momentum, he brought it slashing toward Bey from the right, mindful of his footing.

Turning his body neatly to one side to avoid the blade, Ardeth caught Rick's slash with the flat of his scimitar, one hand on the hilt, the other bracing the scimitar blade itself. Ardeth pushed hard twice and backed away. His hands slipped back to their two-handed grip without a command from his brain.

Rick’s fingers almost slid off his own hilt. He hadn't fought with scimitars and only occasionally with knives. A knife felt different than a scimitar; since this blade was longer, the impact tremor didn't travel down his arm the same way he was used to. He adjusted his grip on the hilt to compensate as much as he could before slashing downward at Ardeth from one side, then again from the other.

Ardeth retreated, parrying the blows and came at Rick from the side. He twisted his blade around Rick's in a peculiar move that let the flat of the blade slap against Rick's wrist.

"Whoa!" Rick gasped, but didn’t quite drop his blade. Ardeth had aimed for the left wrist, the one that didn't sport a brace for protection. He put his left hand behind his back, realizing that if Ardeth had been trying to injure him, he would have lost it instead. I guess there's one thing to be grateful for- I am equally untrained with both hands. He feigned a move to the right but then stepped back, spun left and slashed at Ardeth from behind, hitting his right shoulder with the flat of his blade. Hopefully that'll take his right hand out of play.

"Oh, curses!" Ardeth exclaimed, and took the scimitar in his left hand, also putting his right hand behind his back. "Well done--you found the one attack that I haven't been able to defend against." He ducked into a roll and came up facing the older boy, scimitar extended.

Rick, caught up in a moment of triumph, barely got his blade up to avoid Ardeth's attack. "Glad to see that it's really affected your fighting abilities," he grunted sarcastically between blocks. He found himself being pushed back with each blow. Each stroke that connected their blades kept edging back closer to Rick than he liked.

Ardeth laughed, and lunged in closer, swiping the blade gently against an exposed part of Rick's side. "We are taught to fight with all manner of handicaps--the most difficult one is blindfolded."

It was at this moment that Rick decided he was glad that he was not a Med-Jai. He doubted he could beat Ardeth even if he was blindfolded and Rick was not. And no matter how many times he swung out at Ardeth, he couldn’t land a blow.

Scimitar waving in a rapid series of slashes and jabs, Ardeth charged and swung around behind Rick. Very gently, the younger boy rested the flat of the scimitar blade against Rick's neck.

Rick froze, lowered his sword arm, and laughed. "Yup, I'm dead." Turning to Ardeth, he gave him a formal bow and handed his sword back to him. "Man, that didn't take long."

Accepting his own scimitar, Ardeth sheathed it, then carefully polished his uncle's blade before putting it away. "It took longer than you think--the sun has set. For having no formal training with a scimitar, you are very skilled, although your form is terrible."

“Really?” Rick glanced out at the darkening sky and back to his friend. Oh. He just complimented me big time. He smiled, grateful for the honor. Coming from someone as good as he was, it meant a lot to Rick to know he hadn't embarrassed himself by accepting the challenge. “Thanks, Ardeth. Maybe you can teach me to do better with the form thing."

The younger boy grinned wide, and tried very hard not to laugh. "I will try--I always enjoy a good challenge."

Rick laughed. "Then you're going to love working with me." He picked up one of the artifacts, examining it. "So what brought you to the city today?" he asked Ardeth, leaning against Dr. Bey's desk as he traced the hieroglyphs engraved on the object in his hands.

"I've never been outside of the desert before, and Father wants me to start getting used to the cities and dealing with people outside of the tribe. He plans to send me to a university in England next year. Besides, I was curious." Ardeth carefully stretched out, glad to have used some of his excess energy.

Putting the artifact down and picking up another, Rick shrugged. He didn't think Ardeth was missing much as far as the city went. Granted, it was where he was raised, but over the past fourteen years, it hadn't changed all that much, and he didn't imagine that it would anytime in the near future. "It's okay. But, as you saw, the people here aren't all that welcoming to visitors."

"I did notice that, yes." Ardeth admitted, settling in one of the chairs. "Is it just because I am one of the desert tribes, or do they react that way to everyone?"

"Oh, they react to different people with different insults, but that's about the only thing that changes between each person they decide to pommel. They'd pick on me because I'm an American. They'd pick on you because you're a Med-jai even if they don't know your people's name. They’d pick on Evelyn because she's British. Pretty much anyone they think they can single out in one way or another. If you weren't a Med-jai, they'd target you because you're younger and they equate that with weakness, thinking they could squeeze some money out of you.”

At that, Ardeth laughed. "Those poor, deluded people--they have much to learn." Just then, the door’s look clicked, and Dr. Bey came in, balancing plates of food.

Rick quickly put the artifact back down on the table. Dr. Bey had never reacted well to him handling any of the various items in the museum.

Ardeth quickly stood and hurried over to take the plates from his uncle, who turned and locked the door again before going to the windows and closing the shutters. Once the windows were blocked off, Dr. Bey lit several lamps in the room. Ardeth handed one of the plates to Rick, the second to his uncle, and kept the last one for himself. "Thank you, uncle."

Dr. Bey nodded and smiled. "Anything for my brother's son."

Rick dug into his food- boiled cabbage, eggs, potatoes, and goat- immediately. This smells so good. I’ll have to come here for meals as often as Dr. Bey lets me.

Both of the hungry boys finished their meal long before Dr. Bey did, and the man laughed when he saw the hopeful looks on their faces when they glanced from their empty plates to him. "Do not worry, boys--I am not so old that I have forgotten how hungry I was when I was your age. There is more food waiting in my rooms--I will retrieve it when I am done eating."

Rick could barely suppress his grin of delight. He wondered for minute if the man was open to the idea of adoption, because he'd put up with any amount of lectures for food like this on a regular basis.

A few minutes later, when he had finished his food, he stood and collected the plates. Pausing before he unlocked the door, Dr. Bey glanced over his shoulder sternly. "Stay away from the windows--the lamplight will reveal shadows that clearly aren't mine, and I'm certain you two do not wish to spend the night in the secret room."

Eyes wide, the boys glanced at each other and scooted far away from the windows.

As Dr. Bey locked the door behind him, Ardeth sighed. "I'm beginning to feel trapped--at least it's for my protection. Have you been in the desert before?"

"Yes, but not very far. I don't have the kind of supplies to the do the real exploring that I'd like to do. What's it like out there?"

"It's beautiful--it is a harsh land, but there is a great beauty in seeing the golden sand stretched out as far as you can see on all sides, with the blue sky over you. There are rough mountains that shelter small oasises, protecting them from the cruel sun. But there are also the forgotten places, the places that are pure evil and must be avoided. The desert is a place of contrasts, a testing ground for your soul. It is my home." Ardeth's voice was quiet and passionate, and he stared at one of the walls as if seeing through it to the great expanse of sand.

Ardeth's words painted in Rick's mind a clear picture, and he leaned his head back against the cabinet he was sitting in front of. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath in and released it slowly. "Someday, I'm going out there," he murmured quietly. All his life, the desert had called to him in a way he couldn't explain. And despite the pain it brought him, he knew he would not be able to combat forever the obsession his parents had passed down to him. It was strange to him that the very thing that brought him the keenest pain intrigued him more than anything he had ever known.

"Maybe after this little adventure is over, you and I can travel through the desert together." Ardeth offered, shivering lightly and reached to pull his outer robes back on. The room cooled off since the sun had set.

"I like the sound of that." Rick opened his eyes again. He was trying to picture them out in the middle of the Sahara, riding across a sea of sand.

"Have you ridden on a horse before?" The younger boy asked, and glanced up eagerly when the lock on the door clicked open.

Dr. Bey walked in with two plates more of food and handed them to each of the boys. "A few times," Rick replied as he gladly accepted his second helping. "The officer at Fort Brydon lets me ride his horse occasionally.”

Dr. Bey eyed the two boys with some amount of trepidation. "Let me guess--you two are planning to explore the desert by yourselves. May God protect us."

"Hey!" Rick said with some defensiveness. "We've faced off with red guards and made it to the museum in one piece, didn't we?"

"I suppose so. However, the both of you attract trouble. I just pray that the museum will still be standing by the time I can safely send you two away," Dr. Bey muttered, turning away to hide his smile.

Rick had to restrain himself from telling Dr. Bey that they just had managed to have a duel in his office without breaking anything. He didn't think Dr. Bey would have the reaction he was going for, and he was pretty sure Ardeth wouldn't appreciate him telling his uncle.

This time, the boys were slower to clean their plates. "Thank you, uncle--the food was excellent." Ardeth said, as he finished the food. Dr. Bey turned away from the bookshelf he was studying, and smiled at both boys.

"You are welcome, nephew. Now, young Mr. O'Connell," The man said, fixing his piercing gaze on Rick--the one that made the boy want to confess everything he had done wrong in his life. "I might be able to get you back to the orphanage in a few hours, but it will be dangerous on the streets. Do the temple guards know who you are, or will you be safe at the orphanage?"

Rick thought for a moment. He didn't want to go back to the orphanage. Ardeth had in one day become the best friend he had ever had, and the only one who seemed to accept him for who he was. He was concerned for him, but he knew neither Ardeth nor his uncle would let him stay based on that reason alone. "I'm not sure. That guard we interrogated probably didn't know who I was, but I doubt he's wasted any time finding out," he thought aloud.

Dr. Bey nodded. "I will go see if the way to the orphanage is clear, and check to see if they have been there. I will be back in a few hours--there are blankets in that closet. I would recommend that you blow out the lamps very soon, since I will actually be leaving the building this time."

The boys obeyed, but when Dr. Bey had left the room, Rick let out a his groan of frustration.

"What's wrong, my friend?" Ardeth asked, as he pulled some blankets out and spread them on the floor.

Hunching over the smoking lamp on the desk, Rick hesitated a moment before muttering, "I don't want to go back to the orphanage."

Ardeth went over to the last lit lamp and carried it over to the blankets. "Come sit, my friend." He offered, gesturing to the blanket beside him. "I would be very glad for your company until I have to return home, but it will be dangerous to be around me."

O'Connell shook his head as he sat down next to Ardeth. "I don't care. From how determined they are to find you, they're not going to stop looking for me just because we split up. Besides, you saved my life. We started this fight together and I'm not going to abandon you now." He fixed his eyes on his friend's.

Ardeth inclined his head, and smiled at the older boy. "Thank you, O'Connell--that means a great deal to me. I will tell my uncle when he gets back, but it probably won't be for several hours. We should try to get some rest."

Rick nodded, glad that Ardeth understood. He lay down on the blanket, and it didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep.

Moonlight was seeping through the cracks in the shutters when a creak woke Rick. Ardeth was crouched near the door, head pressed against it, listening intently. He looked up when Rick stirred and motioned for the other boy to be quiet. Ardeth's scimitar was in his hand.


	6. Nighttime Adventures

Rick rose without a sound, grabbing the scimitar from Dr. Bey's desk and made his way over towards Ardeth. Crouching beside him, he strained to listen for what his friend heard.

He could hear faint chanting through the thick door. Ardeth met Rick's eyes—the younger boy's face was pale, and his eyes were dark with fear. "The temple guards are here—they are trying to awaken the creatures."

Rick closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had hoped that Ardeth would be wrong about having to fight undead before this ordeal was finished. He had a hard enough time fighting the living. "All right, how do you kill something that’s already dead?"

"Blow it up, hack it into small enough pieces that it can't hurt you—whatever you do, my friend, do not let them scratch you with their claws!" Ardeth considered the door for a moment, and then shrugged. He went to a tapestry hanging on the wall, and pulled out the nail holding it up. Using the nail, he picked the lock.

Seems almost too simple of a solution, Rick thought remembering all the stories he heard about monsters that had to be stopped with some sacred incantation or magical weapon. He shrugged though thinking that he could work better with this method. He wondered if Dr. Bey would mind him using the scimitar off his desk, but then quickly decided that even if he did, Rick didn't care. "Hey buddy, wait!" Ardeth stopped working on the lock for a moment and turned towards him. "Didn't your uncle say something earlier about protective countermeasures or something in case this happened?"

Ardeth paused, thinking about it. "Yes—he'll have a book or an amulet that will return them to their sleep, but I do not know where it is! The guards have not completed the ritual yet, so we have a little time to stop them—I hope."

"But just in case we don't, what would this book or amulet look like?"

"It would be gold, with writing on it in Ancient Egyptian—the incantation would have to be read out loud. Do you know Ancient Egyptian?"

Of course it would be a language I don’t know! Rick thought despairingly. "No I don't. All right, if it comes to it, I can draw their attention while you put them back to bed."

"Let us hope that my uncle gets here soon—we'll need all the help we can get,” Ardeth murmured, going back to the door. In seconds, he had it open. Using the shadows to hide in, he made his way to the display room.

Rick was right behind him, muttering under his breath. "Yeah and he thinks the desert would be too dangerous for us!"

Pausing just outside of the display room, Ardeth took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing. Then, using the flickering torchlight as cover, he slipped inside of the room, staying very near to the wall.

Rick followed, stopping behind a display every once in a while to further assess the guards' locations. Holding in a disgusted sigh, he counted at least fifteen men, most of them chanting.

Ardeth crept up next to Rick. "The plaque on display by the entrance," he whispered in Rick's ear, "that's the way to get rid of them, I think."

Rick nodded. "All right, wait for my diversion." He started to walk towards the library opposite of the entrance.

Staring after Rick, completely confused, the younger boy finally shrugged and settled himself deeper in the shadows. This ritual was longer than the one the Med-jai archives said existed in the Book of the Dead, but almost more dangerous, since it was better known.

The process of moving across the room without being noticed by the Red Guards was painstakingly slow, but eventually Rick reached the entrance to the library and ducked inside. Since drawing their enemies here would get most if not all of them the furthest away from that plaque, this is where the diversion had to take place. But how was he going to draw their attention without torching the place? Then as he looked around at all the bookcases standing in an oval shaped formation around the room, it came to him. A practical joke to play on Evie had been forming in his mind for a year or two, but he had never had the guts to pull it off. If he had done this for any other reason than their current emergency, Dr. Bey would have him flayed alive, and Evie’s reaction would be much worse. He ran over to the nearest one, resigned to the tongue-lashing he would get tomorrow if he survived the night. Then pushing with all of his might, he knocked the first one down, and then immediately raced away into the next room, trying to outrun the wave of enemy soldiers he knew would inevitably be hot on his heals. The first one crashed into the one beside it, and that one into the next, slowly toppling over bookcase after bookcase in a domino effect until every one of them lay on top of each other. Even from Rick's position almost at the end of the next room, the crash that resounded from the library was startlingly loud. I hope this gives him enough time!

As the first crash resounded through the museum, Ardeth jumped violently and glanced over his shoulder. Had Rick just taken out the foundation for the museum? Spotting books and bookcases flying through the air, he rolled his eyes and waited as the men charged into the library. There were only two men left, but the mummies were starting to stir. Throwing caution to the wind, Ardeth sprinted through the room, right between the two temple guards, slashing one of them with his scimitar, and snatched the golden plaque from the wall.

The other guard drew his scimitar slashing at Ardeth trying to cut off his hand before it reached the plaque. But his swing only met with empty air.

Backing away from the guard, Ardeth kept his scimitar up and ready with his right hand, using his left to support the plaque. The boy nearly panicked as he saw more mummies stirring, and put his back against the wall. Quickly, he started reading the inscription.

Taking advantage of the boy's distraction, the remaining guard began to furiously attack Ardeth. The boy barely dodged away in time, but the tip of his blade caught the arm holding the plaque leaving a nasty gash running up his arm from his elbow.

Hissing in pain, the boy brought his scimitar up, catching the guard’s blade and flicking it hard, so that the man had to grip it tight to keep it in his hand. Desperately, ignoring his injury, the boy continued reading, the inscription rolling through the air with an aura of power.

Sensing that he would need help to stop the boy from finishing the incantation, the guard called for help. But no one came. All of the soldiers were still busy trying to find Rick and by that time had made it to another room unable to hear him from that distance over the sounds of the mummies awakening.

Rick was moving as fast as he could to stay one step ahead of the red guards but not too far ahead that he couldn't keep an eye on them. If any of them started to head back to the room he would have to provide another distraction. But suddenly, a hand grabbed Rick by the shoulder. The boy whirled around, swinging the scimitar in a wild arc as he went.

The guard clearly wasn't expecting any resistance, so the scimitar cut him down immediately. The moment's delay meant that several more guards caught up to Rick, though, and one of them was the one that Rick and Ardeth had interrogated that morning.

The man smiled wickedly at the boy, and Rick's contorted in rage. He could use the staircase behind him to double back and around to the mummy exhibit but he wasn't about to lead this man and all of the other guards back to ambush Ardeth. The best hope they had for success is if he could hold them off here. His heart sank into his stomach with a sickening thud. There were at least eight men surrounding him and more were surely on their way.

Suddenly, a shiver of power went through the air, and they could hear the faint sound of Ardeth's voice raised in a shout, building towards the last of the incantation. Several of the men exchanged glances, realizing that they had only left a few people to finish their awakening ceremony.

Rick couldn't help but smile. Ardeth was almost there. But his mind flashed back to the sudden realization that the guards were about to head back to stop him. He couldn't let them do that. Taking advantage of the distraction Ardeth's voice created, he sliced through the stomach of the Red Guard closest to him and carried it through to impale the next. As that brought their attentions back to him, he kicked out at the man from the alley. Remembering his ability this morning, the man caught Rick’s ankle in an iron grip. Quickly disarming the boy of his scimitar, he instructed the other five men to restrain him. Rick struggled as much and as hard as he could, kicking, clawing, biting, but he could not resist for long and soon they had him. The leader sneered, "Let us speak to the young prince, shall we?" Then at his nod, the guards hauled Rick along as they followed their leader back to the display room.

Between keeping the guard away from him and watching out for any mummies, Ardeth was having a difficult time finishing the incantation to make certain the mummies wouldn't wake up. Finding himself in a corner of the large room, with the guard several feet away, the boy took advantage of the momentary lull and spoke as quickly as he could to finish the chant.

"Med-jai!" An all too familiar voice called across the room. "I would not do that if I were you."

Ardeth faltered, looking up, and his jaw tightened when he saw Rick held firmly by the guards. Glancing back down, he saw he only had three more words to complete the incantation. "Now what?" he asked, voice cold.

"Just keep reading, buddy," Rick said as calmly as if he were commenting on the weather. "It's all good, this'll just take a minute." Rick prayed that Ardeth could see and recognize the look on his face. He had a trick up his sleeve that he had worked out a long time ago for just such an occasion. Well, the occasion of being ambush by multiple people. The undead factor was not something he had anticipated.

Locking eyes with Rick, the younger boy inclined his head very slightly, and then turned his gaze back to the leader. Very deliberately, without looking away, he recited the last three words, sending a shockwave of power through the building. All of the mummies were immediately still again. Immediately dropping the plaque, Ardeth lunged across the room and snatched up the papyrus that the guards had used to try to bring the mummies to life and destroyed it.

Enraged, the guard scowled. You'll pay for that boy by watching your friend die as your bodyguards did, he thought, taking at least some satisfaction that Bey would suffer for his impudence. He raised his fist in the air and dropped it in slicing motion. A squelched cry echoed strangely off the walls accompanied by the sound of a blade slitting someone’s throat.

Ardeth was facing away from where the guards were holding Rick, and flinched when he saw the shadow of the man's signal. At the choked cry and sound of a body hitting the floor, he cried out in denial and fury, whirling.

The leader smiled with satisfaction to see the boy's pain, but that smile vanished when he heard the sound of a struggle behind him and another body hit the floor. He turned to see what was going on. Cursing, he saw Rick fending off three guards, the other two dead at his feet. Rick had been ready to move as soon as Ardeth finished the spell, and the sound of the ancient power rushing through the building had helped to cover the sound of his attack. Rick had known the layout of the room as well. The moment they stopped him so close to the door, he knew they had made a fatal mistake. Just out of sight of the doorway but not out of reach were a couple of circular stands holding ancient Egyptian spears on either side. The moment Ardeth read the words, he retrieved a dagger he had concealed in his bracer. Then using all the power he could muster, he ripped his right arm away from one of the unsuspecting guards, cutting deep into his throat as he went. Before the guards had a chance to react, he used his free hand to grab one of the spears and wield it around, taking down yet another guard. Yanking his head back, he stunned a third who now sported a broken nose. Now, he was free enough to move around and actually stood a chance of fighting, a spear in one hand as he threw his dagger at one of his on-coming assailants.

With a wild battle cry, Ardeth raised his scimitar and charged forward. Several of the guards turned to face him, but they had a handicap, since they were supposed to take him alive. The cut on Ardeth's left arm was still bleeding heavily, so he couldn't use that arm, but he was still deadly with his scimitar.

The four red guards couldn't attack Bey all at once, because of the massive column and two large displays blocking the way. Two in front came at him at the same time trying to pin him between their attacks.

Using the obstacles carefully, Ardeth backed up so that the two men were between a column and one of the displays. He jumped forward abruptly, teasing them into trying to grab for him, letting the scimitar fly in a deadly arc around him.

Both guards fell dead to the ground. Caught in Ardeth's fierce gaze, the other two hesitated, for a moment unable to comprehend what this boy had done to their comrades.

"Surrender to me, and I will spare your lives." Ardeth told them coldly, lifting his scimitar so that it reflected the torchlight.

Looking at each other, they both came to a conclusion. They were very much afraid of the leader appointed over them, but not as much as they feared the heir to the Med-jai throne at this moment. They had arrived with fifteen men, and only five remained, a number that included themselves. They threw their scimitars clattering to the tile floor. The remaining three would be dispatched soon enough.

Vastly relieved that his plan had worked, the boy pointed his dripping scimitar to the far wall. "Go stand over there, with your hands on the wall over your heads, in plain sight. Do not move from there until I tell you!"

Obediently, they did as they were told.

By this time, Rick had already dispatched of the other two guards and only the leader remained. Seeing him moving towards the door, O'Connell raced to cut him off. "You and I have a score to settle," he reminded him cheerily. "Why not a rematch? You wouldn't be running away from a challenge would you?"

The man snarled at Rick, and pulled out a long dagger from his boot. Twirling his two blades expertly, the leader closed in with Rick, intending to use his superior weight and strength against the boy.

But Rick rolled away and was on his feet again in an instant, using the handle of the spear to whack him on the small of his back. "You know," Rick chided in a cocky tone, "this is the third time in the past twenty-four hours that you've tried to kill me. And that's gotta be bugging you right about now, isn't it?"

"You--you infidel! Dog! Prepare to die!" The man screamed, moving to tackle Rick, completely overcome by his rage.

Rick didn't so much try to block his blows as move away from them, hoping that the man would wear himself out leaving Rick with the advantage. But the unbridled fury of his strokes, honed by extreme precision and discipline, was difficult to outmaneuver especially since this guy had two swords. He found himself having to duck behind a sarcophagus occasionally to avoid being cloven in two.

Ardeth appeared next to Rick, looking at the guard in amazement. "What did you say to him? He's gone into berserker mode!" the younger boy said, blocking a wild swing from cutting off his arm.

"Oh nothing much. I only insulted his dignity and spat on his competence," Rick scoffed off-handedly. Then breathing in relief, he called to his friend, "Man, you have perfect timing!"

"Thank you—I've been working at it!" Ardeth called out to the guard in Arabic, offering him a chance to surrender. He hoped the man's native language would catch his attention and break through the blood wrath.

But the guard was too far gone. These two whelps had made a fool out of him long enough and he would see that they paid for what they had done.

"O'Connell, move behind me and make certain my two prisoners by the wall stay put. This one is completely in a blood wrath--I'm going to try to lead him outside."

Rick didn't understand what leading him outside would do, but knew enough to trust that Ardeth knew what he was doing. He gave a quick nod and went to secure their captives. The leader's attacks didn't halt for one second, still coming at Bey full force.

Ardeth, already tired from all that he had done that day and night, hoped he would be able to pull this off. He started working his way backwards, blocking blows from the madman, not admitting even to himself how much his arms were shaking. If he could get the man outside, there would be more room to maneuver, and he might be able to trick the man into some water, which should shake him out of the homicidal rage.

The guard kept hammering away even as they backed down the steps and out into the street. Normally at this point, he would have tried to back Ardeth into a corner or manipulate him in order to get him back inside. But he didn't even seem to notice that he had left the safer, more discreet confines of the museum.

In the meantime, Rick stayed with the prisoners. They feared him as much as they feared Ardeth, because of the way he was pacing like a caged animal, glaring at them every once in a while. Suddenly movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He backed against the column to where he could jump out on the man. But as he spun twirling the spear in attack, his blow was blocked in time by Dr. Bey's blade. When they both recognized each other, Rick sighed in relief and Dr. Bey began to yell at him.

"What are you doing out of the office? I told you not to--” But his voice trailed off as he followed Rick's outstretched hand pointing at the guards. "What . . . what—?" the curator sputtered, but Rick was already moving past him.

"No time to explain. Keep an eye on Ardeth's prisoners for me, would you?" And with that he ran out the door, spear in hand, to find his friend.

Finally finding a horse trough that actually had some water in it, Ardeth didn't even try to be subtle. The boy kicked, putting all of his strength and weight into the blow, catching the guard in the center of the chest and knocking him backwards into the stone trough half filled with freezing water.

Kicking and sputtering, the guard tried in vain to get out of the trough. His robes had tangled slightly around his legs, making all of his attempts to rise with anything even somewhat resembling grace futile. Suddenly he stopped thrashing as he felt Ardeth's blade touch his throat.

"Are you sane enough to understand me?" Ardeth asked coolly, ready to kill the guard if he started attacking like a berserker again. He wasn't strong enough to handle another fight like that one so soon.

"Only if you have something of value to say, Med-Jai." He spat out the title.

"Surrender to me, and I will let you live once again. Otherwise, you will die this night." The boy lifted his chin slightly as he spoke, moonlight illuminating his face. He appeared every inch the prince he was.

The man's eyes smoldered with anger, but he dropped his blade. "You have won today, boy. Enjoy it....while it lasts."


	7. Bandages and Breakfast

Rick watched the scene from a distance. He hung his head in relief. Ardeth was not hurt; the Red Guard had surrendered. It seemed as though they might actually survive to see the dawn. He was almost afraid to think of it, for fear that he could somehow jinx the possibility by celebrating their good fortune.

Kicking the guard's scimitar into the shadows, Ardeth moved back a step. "Get up," he ordered, keeping his own blade ready in case if the man tried anything.

The Red Guard rolled his eyes, looking down at his legs still tangled in his robes. He moved his hands to unwrap them slowly.

Discreetly, Ardeth wiped the blood off of his left hand onto his robes, and then brought that hand up to help support his scimitar. It was difficult to hold it steady like this. Now that he was no longer battling for his life, the boy's adrenaline was fading, and the growing exhaustion was threatening to overwhelm him.

It bothered Rick to see his friend so exhausted. He wanted to step forward to ensure that this guard didn't try to pull anything, but he wasn't sure if that might inflame him further. After a moment, he decided to reveal himself. That way if something did happen, he'd be there to have Ardeth's back.

"My friend," Ardeth greeted him with a slight smile and nod. "Are you well?" the younger boy asked, keeping his attention focused on his newest prisoner.

"Quite,” he replied, pleasantly. "And yourself?" He didn't want to ask Ardeth directly if he was alright while they were still in front of the guard leader. He would wait until later when it wouldn't be as much of a hazard to show weariness.

"I am well." Ardeth scowled at the temple guard when the man finally managed to get to his feet. "Lead the way--we're going back to the museum."

The two boys followed the sopping-wet Red Guard back to the museum. Both kept their weapons raised, ready to strike if he behaved suspiciously in the least. Rick had to fight to resist the urge to poke their captive in the back occasionally with his spear.

"Do you know of any sturdy closets in the museum without anything dangerous in them, my friend?" Ardeth asked as they walked, the tip of his scimitar dipping slightly.

"Yeah," Rick said, describing one just inside the back room where all the cleaning supplies were kept. In quiet tones, he leaned in to speak to Ardeth so that the guard couldn't hear. "We could place a sarcophagus at the door, and he wouldn't be going anywhere.”

The younger boy nodded. "We should do that." He lowered his voice as well. "I'm not going to be able to stay upright for much longer."

"I thought as much." Once they got to the museum, Dr. Bey and the boys herded their prisoners into the closet, locking and barricading the door so they wouldn't have to worry about them escaping. As soon as they were done pushing the sarcophagus back into place, they moved all the bodies of the dead guards behind the building. Dr. Bey and Rick both insisted that Ardeth rest while they dug the hole and then buried the corpses in one mass grave. As soon as they had finished, Rick collapsed to sit beside Ardeth while they watched Terrence recite a spell that was supposed to shield their bodies from being brought back to life. O'Connell turned and looked at his friend. "So how are you doing? Really?"

"We came very close to disaster. I don't think we could handle that many mummies with just blade weapons. I hate mummies," Ardeth confessed quietly. He was sitting on the stairs, watching his uncle work, shivering lightly.

"Yeah, I don't think they like you either," he said smiling. "So I figure, you've gotta be doing something right." Then he paused before continuing. "You are going to be a great king to your people."

"I thank you, my friend." With an effort, the younger boy straightened slightly, taking a deep breath to combat the light-headedness. "How is it that you managed to avoid getting your throat slit during that fight? I was terrified that I had caused your death."

Rick winced as he stretched his arm; it was still sore from the grip the guard had placed on it combined with the effort it took for him to break free. Rick took off the bracer he wore over his right wrist. "A long time ago, probably just after being beat up by that guy you ran into this morning, I started carrying a dagger hidden under this." He turned it over to show Ardeth where he had attached the sheath to keep it concealed. "I was lucky that there are so many weapons in that room. I took him down, grabbed a spear and fought my way free while they were still recovering from the shock." He shook his head, marveling at his own good fortune, and knowing that someday he would outlive it.

"I am certainly impressed. Someone must be watching out for you." Dr. Bey finished the spell to bind the bodies to eternal sleep, and turned to the two boys sitting on the stairs.

"All right, boys, back to my office."

Wearily, the two walked ahead of Dr. Bey as he took them back up to this office. Rick was tempted to tell Dr. Bey that he sick of being in his office but held his tongue the second that it occurred to him that such a statement might remind them of their idea to send him back to the orphanage.

Ardeth dropped gracefully onto the blankets, barely able to keep his eyes open now. "G'night," he mumbled, turning to lie on his left side, but gasping in pain and rolling onto his right.

Immediately, Rick was awake and alert again. He and Dr. Bey almost bumped heads as they rushed to Ardeth's side. At Terrence's request, Rick lit a lamp and brought it over. "What happened to you?" he said as he knelt beside his friend.

Ardeth blinked up at them, managing to look sleepy, confused, and innocent. "Nothing happened to me--well, besides that huge fight we were just in. I am fine."

Liar! Rick was accusing in his mind, but his voice stayed calm if at least grim. "You're not fooling anyone, buddy." He locked eyes with Bey. Terrence too knew that act; Ardeth's father had done it he was at that age. "Ardeth," he spoke his name firmly, tone clearly indicating that he wasn't buying it either.

The boy sighed heavily. "I got a scratch when I was reading the incantation from the plaque. It's fine--I just forgot about it and bumped it."

"Scratch," Rick scoffed, "yeah, I know what that means." He moved the light so that Dr. Bey could get a better look at it. Rick froze, his heart rising into his throat, as he could now see Ardeth’s sleeve reflecting the lamplight. A good deal of his left sleeve was soaked with his own blood. His uncle cut it aside with a small knife so he could better examine the wound.

Ardeth lay quietly, too exhausted to continue arguing. He sighed softly when his uncle cut the sleeve of his robe--that would be a pain to fix, since his cousins were still too mad at him to help him out with his mending.

It was a deep cut almost, making it all the way down to the bone. Rick spent most of the next few minutes running back and forth to get items, Dr. Bey would need to cleanse and dress the wound. Once Ardeth's arm was stitched up and bandaged, Dr. Bey left a drink behind from his medical kit for Ardeth to take and a salve to clean the wound again in six hours to help prevent infections. Placing the prince in Rick's charge, he left the two of them in the room once again locking the door behind them. "Well," Rick thought aloud wearily as he sat down and leaned back against Dr. Bey's desk, “this has been quite a day."

"Bet you never expected this when you woke up this morning," Ardeth told him with a slight smile. He contemplated the healing potion, scowling at it.

Rick laughed and shook his head. "Not exactly this, no." Then he noticed Ardeth's reaction to the potion. "You know, your uncle has given me permission to make you take that. And right now, I'm not so sure I couldn't take you."

Ardeth looked pleadingly up at the older boy. "They taste worse than camel's breath smells! I'll heal fine on my own--please, just dump it out the window!"

Rick gave him a stern look. "Ardeth."

The younger boy actually pouted at him for a moment, before very deliberately rolling onto his side facing the wall, ignoring the medicine.

Rick rolled his eyes. "Look being your friend means I'd rather you have a bad taste in your mouth than your arm falling off. Besides, how would it sound to your family if some street rat pinned you to the carpet and poured it down your throat with your uncle's blessing?”

Glancing cautiously over his shoulder, the black-haired boy met Rick's eyes. "How do you plan to tell them?"

Rick grinned challengingly. "Your uncle. He can include it in the note to your father to fake your arrival to the city."

Ardeth scowled at him. "That's blackmail, you know," he murmured, starting to loose the fight to stay awake.

"Yes, it is," Rick's smile was wicked.

Ardeth blinked sleepily at him, too exhausted to even be alarmed by the expression on Rick's face. "I'll drink it . . . later," the boy mumbled, around a yawn.

"Now," he insisted, picking it up from the table and placing it in Ardeth's hands. He knew that ‘later’ trick, he had pulled it a few times himself with Father Duncan, or tried to anyways.

Wincing slightly, the boy shifted the broad cup so that he was holding it in only his right hand, pulling his left arm closer to his chest. "Ow,"

Rick gripped the glass with one hand until he was sure Ardeth had a better grasp on it. Rick's face darkened slightly. He felt responsible for his arm. Otherwise he might not have been so strict about the potion. I shouldn't have left him, he thought to himself.

Taking a deep breath, Ardeth swallowed the potion in one go, gagging at the taste. A moment later he lay still, and frowned up at Rick. "What's the matter, my friend?" he asked, putting the empty cup on the floor.

"Nothing," Rick lied. His friend was exhausted and needed his rest. He didn't need to be troubling him with this right now.

Ardeth narrowed his eyes at Rick, and grabbed the older boy's wrist with his good arm. "I'm not going to go to sleep until you tell me what's wrong," he threatened, around another yawn.

Rick bowed his head. "You wouldn't have been injured if I hadn't left you behind."

Blinking at him, the younger boy tried to figure this out. "Wait--if you hadn't pulled away all but two of the guards so that I had a chance to get and read that plaque, I wouldn't have gotten hurt?"

"I should have been there for you. I could have doubled back to help you but I thought we might need another diversion, so I stayed to keep an eye on the temple guards."

"And I'm very glad you did. The only reason I got hurt was because I was careless. I knew the other guard was there, and I chose to focus on reading the incantation. If this," he held up his bandaged arm. "is the only price we paid for preventing the creatures from being woken up, then it is well worth it."

Rick smiled slightly. Ardeth was right, it was a small price to pay and still be alive. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"Your welcome. Now, are you going to sleep? Because I certainly am ready for sleep." Ardeth squeezed Rick's wrist once more before letting go, and settling further into the blankets.

Rick followed suit. It had been a very long day, and this little adventure wasn't over yet. He was asleep within seconds.

At dawn the next morning, both boys woke to the undulating call to worship echoing through the still air. Ardeth rolled onto his back and blinked at the ceiling, trying to figure out where he was and why he was so sore.

Rick swatted his hand at the air for a second as he would normally do when he was tired trying to shoo away whoever was waking him up. But as soon as Ardeth moved, he moved as quickly as he could, trying desperately to find the sword he had used the night before. In his sleepiness he was convinced that they were still in danger.

When Rick started flailing around, Ardeth quickly rolled away, snatching his scimitar from beside the blankets, and looked around for a threat. Unable to find anything wrong, the boy frowned at Rick. "What's wrong, my friend?"

The sound of Ardeth's voice helped pull him closer to consciousness. He saw Ardeth and he seemed a little confused but alright. And a quick scan of the room told him there were no mummies or red guards in the room to threaten their lives. Rick let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Ok, no bad guys." He settled from his crouch to sit on the floor leaning up against the desk.

Laughing quietly, Ardeth put his scimitar back down, and settled back onto the blankets. "A little jumpy this morning?" he asked, carefully pulling his shredded sleeve away from his arm and inspecting the bandage.

"After the night we had last night, I'm surprised you aren't. How's your arm doing this morning?"

"It's a little sore, but not bad. Toss me that salve, will you?" Ardeth asked, gently loosening the bandage and unwrapping his arm. The stitches were all still intact, and the cut didn't look like it was infected at all.

Rick brought over the salve and handed to Ardeth. He noticed with some relief that clean and in the light of day, it looked a good deal better than it had when they had discovered it yesterday.

Absently opening the top of the small jar, Ardeth dipped his fingers into the salve and smeared it over the cut, wincing slightly when he touched the stitches. With the sleeve of his tunic cut back, the tattoos on his wrist were clearly visible.

Rick looked at them fascinated. "Whoa, how many of those do you have, buddy?"

Ardeth's smile was wry. "Not very many, yet." He finished applying the salve, and then considered the bandage. "As I get older, I'll receive many more markings."

"Yet?" Rick looked at his friend in disbelief. He only had one, and that had been painful enough. He couldn’t imagine having as many as Ardeth, let alone "many more."

"Part of the tradition of my people is to use tattoos to mark the important events in the lives of the king. Since I am not yet king, I mostly have only the tribal markings." Ardeth explained, as he started trying to wrap the bandage around his arm.

"Oh. Here let me give you a hand with that," Rick said as he reached for the bandage. "So why doesn't your uncle have any?"

"Well, the markings are distinct to our tribe. It would defeat the purpose to send out a man to blend in with the outside world, learning about it, when he is so thoroughly marked. He does have this, however," Ardeth said, indicating the tattoo compass.

Rick nodded. It made sense. He leaned in looking at the tattoo on Bey's wrist. "And what is this for?"

"This, every member of the tribe receives when they turn thirteen. I got mine a bit early--actually, I got all of my markings early," the boy sighed, and made certain the bandage was secure before turning his arm. "I can't really show you in here, since we can't see the stars, but I can give you an idea." The boy clenched his fist, and lifted his arm, turning it slightly to align with sunlight coming through a crack in the shutters. "Look down my arm, and tell me what you see."

Rick followed his line of sight, and his mouth hung open for a second. "Whoa, that's cool!" The part of the marking on Ardeth's wrist seemed was pointing directly at the hole. "So you use this with stars?"

Gently lowering his arm to his lap, the younger boy nodded. "With these markings, I can never get lost in the desert. Actually, I can find my way home or to the protected areas from anywhere in Egypt."

Rick found himself wondering if he could get one some day, but figured since they were "tribal" markings, you had to at least be in or in some way associated with his tribe.

Just then, the lock on the door clicked open. Ardeth snatched up his scimitar and was on his feet in seconds. Dr. Bey stepped in, and looked slightly surprised to see a sword aimed in his direction.

Rick grabbed Ardeth's wrist to pull his arm down, but he was already lowering the weapon.

"Good morning, uncle," Ardeth said calmly, sheathing his scimitar and starting to gather the blankets they had slept on.

"Good morning, nephew," Dr. Bey said cautiously, trying to hide his amused grin. "Is it safe for me to enter?"

Ardeth glanced up from his work, trying not to smile. "Only if you intend to secure your safe passage with promises of food," he announced sternly.

Terrence cocked his eyebrow. "As a matter of fact...." and he stepped back outside to retrieve the two plates he had brought for the boys. Rick laughed as he looked smugly at Ardeth. "It seems I'm not the only one who's jumpy this morning."

Ardeth shrugged. "Well, there is good reason for it." He admitted, eagerly taking the plate his uncle handed him.

As Rick dove into the plate Terrence had handed him, he wondered something. He looked at Dr. Bey and swallowed his food before asking, "So are our guests still comfortably situated?"

Dr. Bey smirked. "I actually contacted some friends from the local authorities. The guards have been taken away, and a few people are helping clean up downstairs. You boys certainly made a big mess."

"I had no choice!" Rick tried to explain to Dr. Bey as fast as he could. "In a moment this place was going to be infested with mummies! I had to--"

But just then a scream erupted from downstairs. "O'CONNELL!!!"

"Ah, it seems Miss Carnahan has arrived," Dr. Bey commented in a casual tone.


	8. Cleanup Time

"Oh no," Rick groaned. He immediately placed his plate on the floor and crawled back behind the desk.

Snickering, Ardeth glanced from his uncle to Rick. "Why does she automatically assume that it was you who did that?"

"I don't know," Rick whined without moving from his place of refuge. "She just always knows somehow, and then she won't let up!" Then in a distinctly sulky tone, he added, "Maybe there are fates worse than death by red guards or mummies."

Ardeth laughed. "The fate of being married? Yes, I can see how terrible that would be." He glanced over his shoulder at the closed door, considering the enraged girl storming towards them. "Don't worry, my friend, I will protect you. I have a plan."

"Thanks, pal!" Rick moaned pathetically.

"Do you happen to know if she's squeamish?" Ardeth asked, quickly taking off the bandage and draping it over his shoulders, so that the bloody spots were very prominent.

"I'm not sure if she is or not." Rick wondered why he had never thought to irritate her that way before.

"Well, hopefully this will work." Ardeth held up his arm so that the stitches were clearly visible from the door, resting a finger on it like he was poking it. "I don't know, Dr. Bey, I think there might still be some poison in there. We need to rip the stitches out, clean it up, and hopefully that will fix it," the boy said clearly, loud enough to be heard just as Evy opened the door.

Evy stumbled in, and the moment she saw Ardeth's arm, her face drained of color. Gathering her breath carefully, her face contorted as she tried to calm her stomach. "Have either of you seen Mr. O'Connell?" she just barely got out without gagging.

“O’Connell?” Ardeth asked, managing to look very confused. He turned to his uncle. “He’s the one that saved my life last night, isn’t he? When those beastly men attacked and tried to destroy the museum?”

Suddenly the look on Evy's face turned to one of confusion. "Some men tried to destroy the museum? Why would they want to do a thing like that?"

Ardeth gave a slight nod to his uncle, letting him take over now that Evy was sufficiently distracted. The boy decided to leave his arm out of the bandage for now in case if he had to sudden redirect the girl's attention, but lowered it to rest in his lap.

"The hooligans were running drunk about the streets," Dr. Bey provided waving a hand dismissively. "I had the authorities come and drag them away this morning."

Rick still kneeling under the desk was nodding his head vigorously, silently pleading for Evy to buy it.

Evy looked over at Ardeth again, her expression softened. "He... saved your life?" Her voice held a tone that clearly indicated that she had a new found respect for Rick. If he saved someone's life, she guessed he couldn't a completely horrible person.

Hiding a satisfied smile, Ardeth glanced over his shoulder at her again. "Yes, O'Connell saved my life--several times, in fact."

"Well, it appears I may have jumped to conclusions about him," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe he's not so wholly disreputable as I first thought." Then her demeanor switched from pleasantly surprised to that of bleak despair. "Now if you'll excuse me gentlemen, I have to work on ...." she could hardly get the words out and looked almost like she was on the verge of tears, "...the library."

Ardeth winced at her tone, and sighed softly. He was probably going to regret this . . . "Would you care for some assistance?"

All of the sudden there was a thump on the desk and Ardeth could just hear the sound of a muttered expletive.

The young Med-jai had to work very hard to keep his face impassive after hearing the thump and Rick's reaction. He kept his eyes on Evy, taking the bandage from around his neck and beginning to rewrap the cut so that he could use his arm without fear of ripping the stitches.

But Evy's eyes narrowed. "He's hiding back there, isn't he?" she asked Ardeth, then called over to Rick, "Like the coward that you are?"

"Hey!" Rick said, rubbing his head as he popped out from behind the desk. "I was just coming to see if I could help you out." He had felt guilty about causing all that mess and leaving Evy clean it up. But if she continued like this, he would sit back and watch. But then he knew that he wasn't about to let Ardeth do any heavy lifting.

Sighing softly as Rick and Evy started sniping at each other, Ardeth rolled his eyes. The way those two acted, they would either end up killing each other or marrying. The boy glanced at his uncle. "Do you think there will be any more problems with those who caused trouble last night?" he asked, wanting to help out, but not certain if he was allowed to leave the office.

"That remains to be seen," Dr. Bey said carefully. "I do not worry so much about the problem they pose as the people that will come looking for them when they are missed. You may leave the office for a short while, but I think it best that you not leave the museum." He looked at Ardeth, his meaning as clear as if it had been spoken aloud: You're father would never forgive me if anything were to happen to you now. Then, noting Rick and Evy were still arguing loudly, he added so that only his nephew could hear, "Word has been sent, soon this will end."

"Thank you, uncle. While it has been nice seeing you, I look forward to getting back home." Ardeth told him quietly, finally finished fixing his bandage.

"I understand," the elder Bey said with a smile. "Oh and while you are out there, stick close to your friend. And come back immediately if anyone suspicious comes in."

With a nod, the boy stood, and started for the door. "Are you coming, O'Connell?" he asked, sliding between the arguing duo.

"Yeah." He immediately turned to follow his friend. Evy stared after him insulted.

"O'Connell! I am not through with you yet!"

"Come on," his reply came back over his shoulder. "You can continue to dress me down in the library while I carry books for you!"

Ardeth led the way to the library, but stopped short in the doorway. Last night he hadn't been able to see what Rick had done, but it was very impressive. "Well. This will take a little while," he murmured, picking up a book that had skidded outside of the library.

Rick winced when he saw the damage in the light of day. It had been dark last night and he had been too busy running from the guards to see the results of his methods. The library looked like a war zone; books, tomes, records, loose sheets of paper all littered the floor. And the bookcases all rested on one another neatly wedged into their current positions. Finding a way to right them was not going to be pleasant.

"I think we're going to need some help to get those upright," Ardeth said, carefully edging his way into the room. "Let us first move the books and scrolls over into a corner so that we can get to the bookshelves."

"Alright, but I don't want you lifting anything too heavy with your injured arm, okay?" Rick told him as he stooped to pick up an armful. "We need it to heal quickly in case we run into more fun like we did last night."

"I know my limitations. This is not the worst injury I have experienced," Ardeth told him, rolling his eyes. The younger boy started gathering books, pointedly using only his right arm.

Evy looked at them suspiciously. "So I take that this sort of thing happens to you often. Why am I not surprised?"

Rick turned to her, exasperation coloring his features. But he didn't say anything. Breathing deeply, reigning in his frustration, he turned and walked away.

Evy stared after him confused. That had not been the reaction she had expected.

Admiring his friend's restraint, Ardeth neatly stacked his armful of books against the wall by the door, then turned to Evy. "Miss Carnahan, why don't you begin gathering the scrolls? Those might be crushed in someone slips and falls."

Evy nodded and scurried off to gather them across the room. Rick stepped closer to his friend. "I'm sorry if I baby you too much. I just worry that you'll push yourself to hard. Probably because it's what I would do. And last night you didn't even want to tell us about it." He shrugged. "I know you can handle yourself, I'm just a little bit over-protective, I guess."

Putting a hand on the taller boy's shoulder, Ardeth smiled at his friend. "I don't mind, O'Connell--at least, not very much. I know you mean well, and I am very grateful for your friendship. I am, however, expected to be able to carry on even with injuries. This is the way life is."

Rick nodded. He was right. He moved to gather more books around the room. "So how do you think we should handle these bookcases when we're done?"

"I think we should see if those men my uncle mentioned were cleaning up are still here. Those look heavy enough that I doubt you and I could lift them up by ourselves."

"Right." He turned to Evy. "Evelyn, could you go see if they're still cleaning up the display room, please?"

Ardeth picked his way through the mess to stand in the center of the room, where there was a little bit of a clean area. "We should probably start here and work our way outwards, so that there's someplace to put the bookshelves."

Rick nodded and the two of them began to pick up the books and papers strewn inside the ring of fallen shelves. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Evy was still gone before he muttered. "See this is why I've never actually done this before."

At that, Ardeth laughed. "Yes, this does put a bit of a damper on it. It was, however, very efficient for distracting the guards."

Rick smiled, trying to imagine the confusion. He remembered how fast the guards had been running. "Yeah I guess they didn't expect to be disturbed from their little chant session. That's good. It means that even after they searched this place they didn't suspect your uncle." Then Rick frowned. "Why do you think they were trying to wake those zombies up anyway?"

"Probably to send them searching for me." Ardeth gathered another armful of books, and began making his way back to the wall. "The creatures make excellent hunters, since they don't eat, sleep, or weaken, and they never give up until their assignment is complete."

Rick shook his head. "Thank goodness we stopped them then." The idea of undead running down the streets of Cairo looking for him sent a shiver racing down his spine.

"Yes. I think it certainly surprised them when we showed up--they got what they wanted, but not how they wanted." Ardeth put down the books, and sighed heavily as he stared around the room. "This is going to take all day."

Rick groaned in agreement, then a mischievous glint lit his eyes. "You wouldn't happen to know a mystical chant that could take care of this do you? It seems to work miracles for everything else."

Laughing quietly, the younger boy shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. Magic is not to be used lightly--there are no cleaning charms. This will have to be done the hard way, I'm afraid."

"Nuts," Rick said pretending to be deeply disappointed. He picked up an Egyptian sceptre and waved it at a pile of catalog cards that had been knocked over, and jumped when they actually scattered in the direction he had waved. After a second he realized Evy had opened the door, returning with the additional help.

Keeping his face stern with an effort, Ardeth gravely nodded a greeting to the men following Evy. Hopefully these men were all Med-jai or friends of the Med-jai, although none of them had the tribal markings.

Rick quickly set the sceptre aside, but not before Evy saw it in his hands. Seeing her watching him, he grinned at her sheepishly. She shook her head more in amusement than anything else and went back to retrieving books scattered across the floor. Rick released the breath he hadn't realized he held, glad she had not laid into him for playing with the artifact.

Ardeth started directing the men, having some of them gather books, and setting the rest to try to get the bookcases upright again. He didn't even realize that he had automatically taken charge of the situation even though he was the youngest person in the room.

And the men followed his direction without question. Rick grinned at him knowingly. Yup, he thought, he's going to be a great leader to his people.

Pausing next to his friend, Ardeth frowned at him. "What are you smirking about, my friend?" the boy asked, crouching to check a cracked vase for any other damage.

"Aw, nothin'," he said, but he could tell that Ardeth wouldn't buy it. "I'll tell you later, when certain others won't hear."

"I will hold you to that." Ardeth told him, then carefully hefted the vase and carried it over to the entrance. It would have to be repaired before it could be put back on display.

The work went along quickly after that. Under Ardeth's guidance, within an hour or two the bookcases were standing again and a couple hours after that were restored to their original state. As the help left they each bowed deeply before Ardeth.

Bowing back to them, the boy thanked them quietly for their help in Arabic. Then, he turned to Evy. "Have a good day, Miss Carnahan."

She curtsied back. "Thank you so much for your help gentlemen."

Rick had been about to turn and head out the door, but he stopped cold. "Wait!" He grinned wickedly. "What did you just call me?"

She shook her head, annoyed. "Oh really."

"No, really," Rick insisted as he walked towards her. "Come on, Evy you never call me that. Let me enjoy it just this once."

Evy rolled her eyes but then smiled and repeated her statement. "Thank you so much for your help gentlemen."

"You're welcome," he smiled, content. He then kissed her hand and turned to walk away while she stood motionless in shock, her hand still in the air where he had left it.

Ardeth practically ran after Rick, and burst out laughing as soon as they were several rooms away. "You managed to completely stun her! I'm impressed."

Rick was still smiling when he turned to face Ardeth. "Thanks. You know that's first time she's paid me a compliment. I wouldn't give her such a hard time if she'd do that a little more often."

"Conversely, she might pay you more compliments if you gave her less of a hard time," Ardeth pointed out, as they started back towards Dr. Bey's office.

"Sure you gotta bring that up," Rick scoffed, but then nodded in agreement. Ardeth had a point, but he knew it was one he could never concede, even though he didn't understand why. "But it's so much fun. She's such an easy target." In truth he realized it had its pros and cons. On one hand he wanted her respect. On the other he didn't want to want her good opinion. Besides, he figured as long as he picked on her, she wouldn't figure out why he liked to bother her so much.

"If you two are ever united in a task, you will be able to do incredible things," Ardeth told him seriously. "Come, let's see if my uncle has any food for us."

Rick followed gladly. All the cleaning had worked up a large appetite.

Pausing next to the closed door of the study, Ardeth knocked firmly. "Dr. Bey?" he called, in case if his uncle had any visitors in there.

"Come on in boys," Terrence called. When Rick and Ardeth entered his office, they saw one of the men who had helped clean the library with Dr. Bey.

Ardeth nodded to the man, then focused on his uncle. "The library is mostly done, Dr. Bey. Miss Carnahan is finishing the organization of it."

Terrence nodded, "Very good. You and Mr. O'Connell may go back to the orphanage now," he replied giving each of them a pound as if paying them for their services, and giving each of them a subtle glance with a hidden warning in his eyes. "I'll send for you again if I have any more chores for you to do."

"Thank you, Dr. Bey," Ardeth said, accepting the money. He waited until Rick got his, then started out of the room, curiously examining the texture of the pound. The only money he had dealt with before had been gold.

Rick showed no outward signs, accepting the money as if he'd been expecting it. But once they got outside Dr. Bey's office and closed the door, he groaned, "Great, that can't be good! So what does he want us to do now?"

"I'm not certain. We could go back to the library for now and see if Miss Carnahan needs any more help. I don't really think it would be safe to leave the museum, though."

Rick agreed. When they got back to the library, only a few things were still out of place. Evy, who hadn't noticed them yet, was wandering around, putting things away, but with a very puzzled expression on her face.

Ardeth nudged Rick's shoulder. "I think that expression is because of you!" he whispered, with a grin.

Rick could hardly stop the smile from coming to his face as he nudged Ardeth right back.

Wandering over to one of the shelves, Ardeth started scanning for any interesting books. There were a fascinating number of tomes he had never seen before, many of them in Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Arabic.

Rick watched Evy and decided to try Ardeth's advice. He called out to her, "Hey, Evelyn, you've, uh, you've done a good job with this room. It looks nice." She looked at him her expression becoming even more puzzled. ".... Thank you," she replied at length. He finally broke off the awkward stare they shared and walked over to join Ardeth looking at books. Then he saw a book that caught his eye. "Hey, Evy, what's this book about? I've never seen it before."

Evy walked over and stared at it for a few seconds. "Where did this come from?" she wondered aloud.

Rick looked at her. Now he was the one to be confused. "But, Evy, you know every book in this library."

"Not this one; this isn't the one of the library's books," she said taking it in her hands and examining the cover first and then the pages. "I've never seen this one before."

"What is the title?" Ardeth asked, putting back the book he had been skimming and coming over.

"I can't find one," she replied. "The cover has only symbols on it. They're not even hieroglyphs."

Then the color drained out of Rick's face. Gently taking the book out of Evy's hand he showed Ardeth a particular symbol on the cover. "There’s one I recognize," he stated grimly looking at Ardeth. It was the same symbol as the pendants that each of the red guards wore about their necks.

Ardeth's eyes widened. "Give me that book, please." He said, ripping off the torn part of his left sleeve and wrapping his hands in it before taking the book. "Both of you, go wash your hands right now."

Evy looked completely confused, but Rick just herded her off to the wash room. "Trust him on this one."

Examining the book, very careful not to let any of it touch his skin, the boy sighed. He had heard about the books of the temple guards before, but never seen one. Very often, the cover was coated in a slow-acting poison to prevent anyone stupid from getting anything out of the book. However, there may be valuable information in it.

After a moment, he heard a scuffling sound from the direction Rick and Evy had left.

"But I already washed my hands!" Evy's voice protested.

"Not thoroughly enough!" Rick replied. There was a sound of splashing, and Evy objecting to his rough treatment as he washed her hands again. When they returned Evy's hands were red, unused to such a thorough scrubbing, and Rick's shirt was half-soaked from the struggle. She stayed at least four feet away from him, eyeing him indignantly. He rolled his eyes. "You'll thank me for that someday." He could tell by the look she gave him that she doubted that, but he didn't care. He didn't want to risk that she'd missed something.

"Rick, get some sand and use it to coat the books and shelf where this book was. That will be less damaging to the books, and still hopefully absorb the poison," Ardeth ordered, wondering if this book had been left here last night, or sometime during the day.

Rick nodded and took off to the back of the building, hesitant to go out through the front in case someone was waiting for them. Evy was still confused. "What poison? Why did you tell us to wash our hands? What on earth is going on around here?"

Ardeth met her eyes, his face stern. "This book is one from a desert tribe, the mortal enemies of my tribe. I have never seen one of their tomes before, but I have heard descriptions, and that tribe often coats the cover in poison. I do not know if there is any poison on this one, but it is unwise to take chances."

At first, she looked at him, as if deciding on whether or not he was joking or not. But his gaze told her that he was deadly serious. Then she looked down at her hands. She opened them and closed them. "I guess I owe him an apology, don't I?" she murmured quietly.


	9. Calm Before the Storm

Rick rushed in with a bucket of sand and, without ceremony, began to dump it over the books on the shelf. "So, find anything interesting in there yet, buddy?" he called over his shoulder.

"Not yet. It will take me several days to figure out what code they have this written in. It will, however, be a major help to my people in our duties," Ardeth told him, closing the book. He looked at Evy. "Do you have some spare cloth or a burlap sack I could use to carry it in? I don't want to completely ruin my robes."

Evy ran off to get a bag from the back room. Rick laughed at his comment on his robes. "It looks good on you that way though," he teased as he continued shoveling sand onto the books. After finishing, he dusted his hands off onto his clothes, leaving brown streaks all over his white shirt.

"I do not enjoy running around with my robes in this condition, O'Connell," Ardeth told him tartly, sighing as he realized that the bandage on his arm was now clearly visible.

"I'm surprised you can enjoy running around in them at all," Rick confessed. "They're so dark. Don't they absorb a lot of heat?" And they don't exactly blend in, he thought to himself. He had been wondering since he met Ardeth why his people wore such dark robes.

"They can get rather warm," Ardeth admitted, ruefully. "But there is a great deal of tradition in these robes."

Rick nodded. He knew that tradition probably meant a great deal to him and his people. "I'd offer to let you borrow some of mine, but I don't really have any to spare."

"I appreciate the thought. Now, Miss Carnahan, about that sack?" the boy asked, making certain his right hand was completely covered before shifting the entire weight of the book onto it. His stitches were burning with the strain of having to support the heavy tome.

She held out the sack she had retrieved. "Will this do?"

"Excellent. Thank you, Miss Carnahan." Ardeth awkwardly took the sack with his left hand, then tried to figure out how to get the book in it without letting its cover touch the outside of the sack.

Rick grabbed the sack and held it open for his friend. "So when should we tell Dr. Bey about this discovery?" Rick had just barely caught himself before he had said "your uncle." He wondered if the other man had left the museum yet.

"I don't know—I don't want to interrupt him if he's still in a meeting. I'm certain he'll come check on us later, so we'll just wait for him." Ardeth carefully lowered the book into the sack, dropping the sleeve of his robe in there also. "Is there somewhere hidden where we can put this, so that no one accidentally gets poisoned?"

Rick shrugged. The only place he could think of was the hideaway, but he discarded the idea as soon as it came to him. He turned and looked at Evelyn.

"We could hide it in a sarcophagus. I doubt the mummies will mind," she suggested. But Rick and Ardeth were both already shaking there heads adamantly. "Well, we could hide it in one of the urns in the back display room."

Considering that, Ardeth nodded. "Would you put it there, please, Miss Carnahan? It will look less suspicious, seeing as you work here."

"Less suspicious?" she asked, but seeing the looks on their faces, she did as she was told without any further questions, much to their relief.

"Any suggestions for what to do while we wait for my uncle to come find us?" Ardeth asked, after going to wash his own hands. He didn't want to chance the poison.

"I'm not sure. We can't go outside. We can't go into the office. I think we'd attract too much attention fighting a duel down here. And after all the work we put into straightening this place out this morning, I'm not about to start switching books around."

Laughing quietly, Ardeth nodded. "Now you understand why she got so upset when you switched the books?" he asked, absently pulling his injured arm closer to his chest and cradling it as it started throbbing.

"Okay, yeah, maybe," Rick said shaking his head with amusement. "Well we should probably stay away from the entrance just in case. So whatever we do, we would need to do in the back or upstairs."

"What sort of things are there in the back and upstairs? I didn't really have a chance to look around earlier," the boy commented wryly, thinking over his vague recollections from the night before.

"Well, the back room has a chariot and other various displays. The balcony has that slab that Evy's so fascinated with. Oh, and there's a room upstairs displaying all kinds of ancient Egyptian weapons."

"I would be most interested in the ancient weapons display. I'm certain there are some fascinating items there," Ardeth said eagerly.

"Alright." Rick led the way up the stairs, along the balcony and into the weapons room. Inside, the walls were covered with knives, sickles, kamas and other instruments of war. It was magnificent the way the lamplight reflected off of the ancient blades.

Utterly fascinated, the boy wandered into the room, trailing his fingers through the air just over the weapons. He paused often to read the display plaques and stopped for a while in front of one highly decorated scimitar. "This is a Med-jai blade. See the inscription?"

Rick looked at the symbols etched into the blade. They looked very similar to some of the tattoos Ardeth had. "It's beautiful." He noticed it was subtly prominent, more so than the other blades in the case. He chuckled, thinking Dr. Bey was probably the one responsible. Then he remembered something. "Hey, buddy, I was going to tell you something in the library that I didn't want everyone else in the room to hear."

"Oh, yes, you were." Ardeth turned away from the blade and looked expectantly at Rick, raising an eyebrow. "Well, my friend, what is it?"

"You're going to be an excellent leader to your people. The way you took charge in the library, and no one bothered to ask why they should listen to you. That was what I was grinning about."

Ardeth blinked at him for a moment, before remembering that yes, he had taken charge in the library. "I—thank you, my friend. I hope I will be able to live up to your confidence in me.”

Rick nodded, walking over to the display of swords. "I wonder why they were so fascinated with these bugs," he thought aloud, picking up a dagger with a scarab engraved into the blade close to the hilt.

"The flesh-eating beetles? They are part of the worst curse and punishment used in ancient times," Ardeth told him, shivering slightly as he looked at the scarab.

Rick winced and looked at the dagger with disgust as he ever so carefully placed it back down in its spot. "Never mind, I'm not that curious."

"Yes, it's not a pleasant story." Ardeth turned away from that dagger and once again started wandering the room. "There is a great deal of my tribe's history here."

"It's a shame no one knows it. So you protect the world from evil, and in return, they try to beat you up on sight?"

"Having the world safe and ignorant of the evils is all that we ask," Ardeth told him gravely, gently resting a hand on the ornately decorated hilt of a scimitar.

"Having to save the world and then being harassed for it? That would drive me nuts!" Rick picked up a pair of sai and brandished them. "Hey, these are cool."

"I picture you more with guns than blades, my friend. Have you ever used any?" Ardeth asked, picking up a spear and testing the weight.

Rick shook his head. "I wish. They generally don't hand those off to guys my age, and I've never had enough money to buy one. But someday..." he mused.

"If I ever receive permission to allow you to visit my tribe, I will teach you how to use one," Ardeth offered, carefully putting the spear away and turning to look at some weapons near the entrance, only to nearly run into a man.

Rick turned to see Ardeth face-to-face with the red guard leader. The man picked the prince up off the ground and held him at eye level. "You should have killed me when you had the chance, boy!"

Without even thinking about it, Rick picked up a curved dagger and threw it at the leader's leg, carving a deep gash across his thigh. Picking up another, he raced over to help Ardeth.

Ardeth fought to get free of the demented man but was no match for an adult's strength, especially not with an injured arm. The leader, apparently not even feeling the gash from the thrown dagger, threw Ardeth into Rick, hard, knocking both boys over.

As Bey's body hit O’Connell’s, the force of the impact knocked the dagger from Rick's hand, and they fell to the ground, knocking over a stand of battle axes as they went. Rick cried out in pain as the edge of one bit deep into his leg. The red guard loomed over them.

"Not so tough now, are you?"

Immediately scrambling to his feet, Ardeth snatched for one of the fallen battle axes, only to cry out as the temple guard kicked him in the ribs. The boy nearly fell onto Rick again but twisted to land next to his friend instead of on him.

Rick held his leg as best he could to try to stop the bleeding. He looked up and was startled by how close the red guard had gotten. Using his other hand, he tried to reach for one of the weapons, but more men had filed in behind the guard and pinned both boys to the ground. The red guard stood on Rick's sore arm to hold it in place, eliciting a groan from the boy. He then stooped and removed Rick's bracer. Then turning to Ardeth, he took the scimitar that was carefully hidden in Bey's belt. "We wouldn't want you to suffer from delusions of grandeur. There will be no heroics today."

Ardeth fought silently against the guards trying to hold him down, making use of all the tricks and techniques he knew. There were too many men though, and every time he managed to break away from one man, another was there to hold him still.

Rick was thrashing for a few moments, but he couldn't keep it up with his injury for long. He was starting to get dizzy.

One of the men finally got fed up with Ardeth and stepped behind the Med-jai, wrapping an arm around his neck. Every time Ardeth tried to struggle, the man would tighten his grip until the boy was seeing black spots and went completely limp. After that, it didn't take them long to get him tied up.

Rick completely let go of his leg to try to stop the man from strangling his friend. But one of the guards over him punched his wound repeatedly, splitting it open further and sending blinding pain through Rick's body. Soon, he had passed out from the overload and blood loss.

Ardeth straightened as much as he could in the grip of his captors and glared at the guard who had attacked Rick. "Step away from him now," he commanded, voice promising instant death if the man didn't obey.

The leader scoffed at the prince. "Are you giving us orders? I am Alack-nah, leader of the Red Temple Guards. I will take no orders from a worthless Med-jai brat, not even one from the royal family. Besides, you are not in a position to make any demands. I told you to enjoy it while it lasted."

"How did you get out of prison so quickly?" Ardeth asked, trying to buy a bit more time—maybe his uncle would come soon. The boy anxiously eyed the wound on Rick's leg—it was still bleeding heavily, and needed medical attention.

"I told you that we had our allies, boy. We are everywhere. There is nowhere you can hide from us where we will not hunt you down."

Out of the corner of his eye, Ardeth caught sight of movement at the doorway. Shifting his head very slightly, he saw Evy peering in, looking alarmed. "You seek to kidnap me, that I can understand, but why are you going after Rick O'Connell? He is not of my tribe," Ardeth said, hoping Evy would hear the part about being kidnapped and go get help.

Upon hearing Ardeth's words, Evy's blood turned to ice. She could see both were injured, and part of her wanted to pick up a weapon to defend them, but the more sensible part of her told her to get Dr. Bey. He'd know how to deal with these ruffians. She vowed that if their lives were spared, she'd never lecture them again.

Nearly sighing in relief when he saw Evy turn and run off, Ardeth spoke quickly to cover the sound of her footsteps. "Leave Mr. O'Connell here, and I will swear not to fight you for twenty-four hours."

Alack-nah’s eyes held an evil gleam as he shook his head. “The line in the sand has been drawn. The moment he chose to defend you, his life was forfeit. And now that he has made open efforts to defy us, we must make an example of him to those who would dare defend the Med-jai. Do not worry, your highness, he will live for now. You will both prove far greater sport for us that way. And then, you will beg for death.”

At a nod from the leader, one of the men stuffed a rag in Ardeth's mouth and tied another rag tightly over his lips. One of the guards bandaged Rick's leg carelessly so that he wouldn't bleed to death. Then, Rick was picked up and carried out the back entrance with Ardeth being shoved along behind. There were several horses there, and Rick was placed behind one of the men, arms tied around the guard's waist. The younger boy was almost grateful that his friend was unconscious, since otherwise he would be forced to walk.

Alack-nah quickly made a loop at the end of a length of rope and forced it around Ardeth's head. The other end was tied to the man's saddle. With his arms tied behind his back, Ardeth would have a difficult time balancing in the sand, and he fixed his burning gaze on the leader, looking immensely dangerous even though he was bound and gagged. The guard only glared right back, not letting it show how Ardeth's piercing eyes unsettled him. The boy had courage, he had to give him that. He was a skilled opponent, and he had made the mistake of underestimating him before, but this time he was taking no chances. Then, Alack-nah smiled smugly. "Do your best to keep up, your highness. We wouldn't want your neck to snap." Then, he dug his heels into the horse's stomach, sending it off at a speed that would leave the prince hard pressed to keep from being dragged.

Within minutes, they were out into the desert, and Ardeth was struggling. Moving at this speed through the sand was nearly impossible, but he didn't dare lose his balance, or he would be choked to death. The boy kept his gaze focused on the sand, moving his arms as close to his robes as he could, and working loose one of the silver designs on his sleeve. Maybe he could leave a trail since he was at the end of the small caravan.

Meanwhile back at the museum, Dr. Bey rushed into the weapons exhibit, a scimitar in each hand ready for action. Evy was right on his heels, picking up the first weapon she could get her hands on, a sai. But they were too late and only the overturned displays and the small pool of blood on the floor testified that anything had ever been amiss here.

"May God protect them," Dr. Bey murmured in Arabic before turning to Evy. "I must gather as many warriors as I can and go after them. My falcon will be returning here soon, and I need you to feed her, give her water, and then send her out again. I will write the message."

Evy was nodding, a look of panic in her eyes, but then something caught her attention. She walked over and picked up a small scroll of paper. "That's odd," she muttered. "It's the same size as the messages you give me for your falcon." She placed it in Terrence's out-stretched hand. He read it, and his face went red. "What is it?" she asked quietly.

His eyes blazed as he looked at her, but she could tell that his anger was not directed at her. "It's a ransom note," he hissed through clenched teeth. Then, his rage seemed to clear a bit. "Go, Miss Carnahan, quickly."

Dr. Bey quickly strode back to his office and scribbled down a message for his brother about the kidnapping of Ardeth and his friend. Then, including the ransom note, he left the messages on his desk for Evy and hurried off to find the other Med-jai and their allies in the city.


	10. Unexpected Journey

After a while, Rick was starting to come around but genuinely wishing he hadn't. He had a killer headache, which being on the back of a horse was not helping. He tried not to move too much, both to keep from becoming any more nauseated than he already was and to keep from attracting attention as he tried to assess the situation. He squinted his eyes, trying to bring them into focus more quickly. As far as he could tell, he was hugging some huge mass—he could only assume it must have been one of the guards—seated behind him riding on a horse. He tried turning his head as subtly as he could to see where Ardeth was. But as the horse he was on landed roughly from a jump over a rock formation in the sand, a groan involuntarily left his lips as both head and stomach rebelled.

The guard tensed a little, but otherwise didn't react, pretending he hadn't noticed Rick stirring. It was getting close to sunset, and the horses were slowing. Almost an hour later, they finally stopped. Rick's hands were untied from around the guard and retied in front of him. Surprisingly gentle hands pulled him down from the horse and put him inside the tent. Moments later, there were shouts, and someone landed next to Rick. "Take care of your American friend, princeling, and don't try anything, or you'll both be walking tomorrow!"

Footsteps crunched in the sand as the guard left, and a hand gently touched Rick's shoulder.

"Are you awake, my friend?" Ardeth asked, voice very hoarse.

"Unfortunately." Though clearly there was relief in Rick’s tone at hearing his friend's voice. He kept his eyes closed for a minute longer as he waited for the world to stop revolving around him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Lie still, let me see if I can get us some water." Ardeth wearily struggled to his feet, exhausted after a day of running behind horses through sand. He went to the entrance of the tent and looked out at the guard. "May we have some water, please?" he asked, forcing himself to be respectful for Rick's sake.

The guard handed him a canteen. "Make it last. This is your ration for the day."

"For both of us?" Ardeth asked, absently glancing at the stars to figure out where they were in relation to home.

"You are unsatisfied with the amount?" the guard asked in a dangerous tone.

Ardeth's shoulders tensed, but he forced himself to keep quiet and calm. "My friend is injured, and his wound must be cleaned out. And both of us need drinking water," the boy said, voice level, keeping his eyes on the guard.

The guard growled in frustration. His orders were clear: to keep the two of them alive and in custody until they reached their destination. They had a very limited supply since tracking down the prince in Cairo had taken much longer than expected. And they had not anticipated having two hostages to bring supplies for. This meant that provisions had to be divided carefully, and in favor of their captives, even above one of their own. Grudgingly, the guard handed over his ration of water to the prisoner. "If one drop is wasted, you and your friend will find a new definition of torment above and beyond that which you already face."

Bowing his head in thanks, Ardeth accepted the second canteen. "I thank you for your generosity," he said before going back into the tent. "We have two canteens tonight, my friend, but from here on, we will have to share. Drink slowly."

"Thanks, buddy." Rick finally opened his eyes. Everything was still a little blurry, but clear enough. He truly hoped the water would give his stomach something else to focus on instead of protesting the lack of food. But as he reached out to accept the canteen, he saw a red ring around Ardeth's neck. "What did they do to you?"

Touching the rope burn gingerly, the boy shrugged. "It's nothing. I'm fine." Ardeth handed one of the canteens to Rick, then knelt next to his friend and started unwrapping the wound in his thigh.

Despite his friend's dismissal of the burn, Rick cursed angrily. The next time that jerk's life is in our hands, he's not going to be spared! he promised himself. He sipped water from the canteen slowly as Ardeth examined his injury. Wincing, his body tensed at the deep cut was exposed to the air.

Ardeth sighed and sat back on his heels, looking at Rick. "I need to wash this out. Thankfully, the weapon was clean, and it was bandaged tightly enough that there isn't any sand in it, but I don't want to take any chances. This will hurt, my friend."

Rick nodded having expected as much. "Next time we get overrun by a gaggle of bad guys, let's not do it in the weapons room," he commented weakly, trying to lighten the mood.

The younger boy managed a slight smile. "I will make a point of that, for next time," he told Rick seriously, then carefully tore some material off of his shirt since the robe had protected that from sand and dirt. "Are you ready?"

Rick took a deep breath before nodding. As Ardeth began to clean the wound, he clenched his jaw shut, trying to hold in the cries of pain. He knew Ardeth was working as gently as possible, so he tried to think about how they were going to escape from this situation to get his mind off of the agony shooting through his body. But try as he might, his leg insisted on his attention and he could not escape it.

Working as gently and quickly as he could, Ardeth finally finished cleaning out Rick's wound, then sighed. The cut was deep enough that it definitely needed stitches, but he had no needle and thread, and the stitches would probably get torn open anyway from being bounced on a horse. So, he carefully bandaged it with strips from his shirt. Then, pouring a few drops of water into some clean sand, the boy used that to clean his hands. He had been careful with the water, and around half the canteen was left. Ardeth considered it for a moment, then sighed and capped it again. "Are you well, my friend?"

Rick was taking deep breaths, trying to get his body to relax. "I'm okay. Thanks. You?"

At that, Ardeth grinned. "I’m not the one who just had to have a cut cleaned out," he pointed out, then glanced at the canteen Rick held. "How much is left in that one?"

"I meant your arm and new hemp-carved tattoo, courtesy of our hosts." Rick held the canteen up, trying to judge its weight. Since he had been nursing it, there was still a good deal left. "About two thirds, I think." He handed it to Ardeth. "So where are we?"

"We're many miles out from Cairo and heading across the Sahara. My home is that way, but almost a week away on horseback," Ardeth told him, carefully taking a sip of the water. The cool liquid felt wonderful against his dry, abused throat.

"Great," Rick grumbled as he tried to sit up. "Okay, let's assess. We're in the middle of the desert, surrounded by bad guys, no one knows where we are or probably even that we're gone. How are we going to get out of this?"

"For now, we will cooperate. At this point, there's nowhere we can go, assuming we can escape and survive long enough to reach safety." Ardeth offered Rick his hand, slowly pulling the other boy upright. "I saw Evy after you passed out, and I think she got my uncle, so he knew almost immediately that we were taken, and I'm certain he's coming after us. He probably sent word to my father, also."

"Well, that'll help," Rick said, looking down thoughtfully. There was something he was missing, some detail that he had noticed about their situation, but he just couldn't coax it from the back of his mind. Oh well, he thought, it looks like we'll have some time on our hands for me to remember it. "What do you think is going to happen when we get to where ever it is they're taking us?" he asked, even though he felt that he would regret the question later.

Ardeth dropped his eyes. "I don't know what they plan to do with you, but you will probably be killed quickly. They will keep me alive for a little while, probably torturing me, and try to get my father to give up Hamunaptra for my safe release."

Rick shook his head. Yeah, really stupid question! he yelled at himself inwardly. But then he smiled, wondering that if he gave them enough grief, Alack-nah might have him tortured too first instead of killing him right away. That way at least he could stay alive a little longer and try to help his friend escape.

The younger boy looked at Rick warily. "Whatever you're planning, don't do it. I'm not up to carrying you while walking across the Sahara."

Rick laughed. "As if I'd let you. I can be stubborn too when I put my mind to it." Then he ran the plan through his mind again, trying to see if there were any set backs he had overlooked. But his smile widened. It would work, and it would be to some degree satisfying. "No, if that's the way this is going to work out, I'm not going down easily. I'll make myself so much of a pain that I'll become too big of an investment in time, effort, and resources for them to just kill me quickly!"

Ardeth stared at Rick in dismay, wondering where the older boy came up with these ideas. "I really, really don't think you should do that, O'Connell. Being killed quickly by the temple guards is a mercy—a very rare mercy."

"I know," he said looking at Ardeth, seriously this time. "One that you won't be afforded. The longer I'm alive, the more we can divide their attention and supplies, the longer it takes for them to accomplish their goals, and the greater chance that we'll be rescued. Besides, if they plan to kill me, I've got nothing to lose."

Placing his bound hands on Rick's shoulder, the younger boy smiled. "I thank you, O'Connell. You are a true friend."

Rick smiled back. "You too." In truth, Ardeth Bey was probably his only friend. "And you can call me Rick." He had just now realized that Ardeth never called him that, probably out of respect. But it had taken him this long to realize that, since everyone had always called him by his last name. Someday, he thought, I'm even going to have remind myself that I have a first name, let alone what it is.

Ardeth settled back onto a blanket and nodded. "Thank you for that honor, Rick. Now, try to get some rest—it's going to be a long journey, I'm certain."

Rick obeyed, settling down. He would need all the rest he could get, especially before annoying their captors. It would take every ounce of strength he had to make the run behind the horse that he knew would inevitably come. He had no illusions that he would be spared any pain they could give him. But he fell asleep smiling, determined that if he was going to suffer for it, he was going to take as much pleasure from this as possible.

Waiting until Rick was asleep, Ardeth covered the older boy with a blanket. The desert got cold at night, and with as much blood as Rick had lost, he would have a difficult time keeping himself warm. Then, the boy took the half-full canteen he had used to clean out the wound and went to the entrance of the tent. "Your canteen—I didn't need all of it to clean out my friend's injuries," the boy said quietly, handing it back to the guard. "No one should be without water in the desert."

The man regarded him curiously. We intend to torture him, and he's showing me courtesy? he wondered, confused. But then, he noticed Ardeth's eyes were still fixed on him. To make up for his hesitation, his eyes narrowed as he snatched the canteen from the boy's hand.

Ardeth inclined his head, then ducked back into the tent. Sighing softly, the boy checked the ground inside the tent carefully for scorpions or any other poisonous creatures, then sat down and pulled off his boots, dumping out all of the sand that had gotten into them.

The only sounds outside were the winds blowing across the sands and the low tones of red guard voices as they sat talking around the camp fire they had constructed for the night.

Sighing softly, Ardeth slid his boots back on, so that he wouldn't find any surprises when he woke up, and lay on his side next to Rick. In seconds, the boy was sound asleep.

Rick woke up to the sound of red guards scurrying about the camp making preparations to depart. He rolled over and sat up as best he could. He had slept hard and actually felt much better this morning because of it. He chuckled ruefully when he thought about how soon that would change.

Ardeth was already awake and smiled at him. "Ready for another day?" the boy asked, holding out the half-full canteen.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he returned the smile as he took the water tin. He took a few small sips, glad to note that his stomach was much more agreeable this morning. "So what'd I miss?"

"Not much. They're breaking up the camp, so we'll be leaving soon. I believe they'll let you ride again today, so please, don't mess that up. Your leg is not strong enough for walking just yet," Ardeth warned him, quietly.

"I can't just ride on horseback while you’re running behind," Rick told his friend. "Besides I was so looking forward to getting on that jerk's nerves this morning." Though he was sure Ardeth was right. Running in the open desert was much different than running down the city streets, and that was with a healthy leg. And having lived in the desert all his life, Ardeth could do that better than Rick could. But letting him run while he sat in the comfort of a saddle… Seeing the look he was giving him, Rick sighed. "Alright. But only for a while." And that's contingent upon the guards' civil behavior, he added to himself. At the first hint that he was tiring, Rick fully intended to jump off the saddle, at full gallop if needs be, to run to his friend's aid.

A few minutes later, Alack-nah and two other guards came into the tent. One of the guards gave each boy a piece of bread and a small piece of jerky. "Eat quickly. We leave very soon," Alack-nah warned, as the other two men started dismantling the tent.

Rick had to reign in his tongue. He had really been looking forward to laying into this guy, but he stuffed his mouth with food to keep inside the quips he was dying to say. As he ate, he realized that he would probably have preferred his own stash. Then, he paused, realizing he still had it with him. When the guard had his back turned, he subtly slipped it into Ardeth's hands. He would need it more than Rick would.

With a faint smile at Rick, Ardeth slipped it into his own robes to save for later. The two boys shared the last of the water from their canteen just as the tent was completely packed away. One of the men came to Ardeth and untied his hands, giving him a minute to stretch, then retied his hands behind his back. The boy kept his lips pressed tightly together, and his attention focused on Rick, hoping to warn the older boy to keep quiet when Alack-nah put the rope back around his neck.

Rick stiffened visibly, his eyes flashing with all the words he kept inside only with a concentrated effort. Finally, Rick had to look down at the ground to keep the words from flowing unbidden from his lips. He tried to breathe in deeply to calm himself, but it wasn't working very well. He raised his eyes again, his face a thin mask of control, but it held. This isn't over, he repeated over and over again to himself.

A moment later, the other of the temple guards was in front of Rick, untying his hands. "Can you stand, boy?" the man demanded, glancing at the bandages wrapped around Rick's leg.

Rick couldn't say anything just yet. In truth he didn't know, so he simply stood to try it out. It hurt like crazy, but it didn't give out from beneath him. He nodded, still afraid to speak and run the risk opening the floodgates.

"Come with me, then," the man ordered curtly, turning and walking toward a saddled horse nearby. Ardeth hurried over to Rick, offering the older boy his shoulder for balance in the shifting sand.

Rick took it, glad for the help. Before they reached the horse, Rick finally opened his mouth for a moment. "Be careful back there, okay?"

"I will. You be careful as well, my friend. Rest as much as you can on the ride," Ardeth advised him as they stopped a few feet away from the temple guard's horse. The younger boy was at the end of the leash around his neck and didn't want to antagonize the leader so early in the day by pulling on it.

Rick walked the rest of the way to where a guard waited with the horse. He helped him up into the saddle when Rick reached his side, then swung up onto the horse himself. Another guard handed off the reigns to the rider while he tied Rick's arms around his waist. Rick cast a glance back at Ardeth to see how he was faring.

The young Med-jai was standing still at the end of the rope, watching to make certain his friend got settled all right. Then, quietly, he went over to stand by the leader's horse, surprising most of the temple guards by picking out the horse easily.

Rick laughed quietly to himself. Everyone who met Ardeth seemed to underestimate him, which could be a good thing at times. He had to keep his laughter contained when he saw Alack-nah coming out to his horse and almost stop and stare in surprise to find the prince waiting for him. But it wasn't easy. The guard sitting on the horse in front of him elbowed him but a lot less forcefully than he could have, Rick noted as he took in his bulk. He wondered why this man was holding back. By this time, Alack-nah had made his way over to Ardeth and his horse.


	11. Destination Revealed

In minutes, the entire group was mounted and on their way again under the scorching desert sun. After the rest, food, and water, Ardeth was easily able to keep up, at least for now. He knew that it would be difficult to keep going all day, but he also knew that Rick would cause a fuss if the older boy thought he was having any problems.

Rick kept looking back over his shoulder every few minutes to check on Bey, as well as he could anyway, considering he was tied to where he couldn’t pull back from the rider far away enough to twist in the saddle. Which was probably the whole point, he figured. In the meantime, he kept wracking his brain trying to come up with a plan to escape or cause a diversion, even if just to hold out until help came. He took a moment to try and stretch the stiffness from his leg without spooking the horse, but it just wasn't doable at the moment. He exhaled deeply. Well this is definitely not what I had in mind when Ardeth and I had planned on traversing the desert. Then, he chuckled, realizing that Dr. Bey had been right in what he had said back at the museum about that trip.

At noon, they stopped to rest the horses, and everyone dismounted. It was too dangerous to continue riding with the sun at its peak. Very grateful for the break, Ardeth settled to the sand in the horse’s shadow.

As soon as the guards had pulled him down off of the horse, Rick moved as quickly as he could over to where Ardeth sat. “Hey, buddy, you okay?” he called out before he even made half the distance.

The younger boy nodded, pushing his sweaty hair back from his face with a grimace. "I'm a little tired, but fine. How is your leg?" Ardeth asked, as Rick sat next to him.

"Stiff, but ok," Rick said, extending it now that he had the opportunity. The muscles were tight and slightly sore but nothing like they were the night before. "I think maybe I can run now."

Ardeth's hands were still tied behind his back, so he gestured with his chin to the bandage. "Remove the bandage and let me see it."

Rick carefully removed the bandage, keeping his hands protectively poised around it, not wanting the passing of the guards or what little breeze there was to kick sand up onto the wound.

Studying the injury as best as he could, Ardeth sighed. "It is improving, yes, but if you try to run through the sand the rest of the day, you will rip it open again and negate the little healing that has happened."

Rick groaned in irritation, "Come on. Okay, I don't like battle axes anymore. At least, not when I'm on the receiving end."

"Most people do not like to be on the receiving end of battle axes," Ardeth commented wryly. He casually glanced back the way they had come and, far off, saw a faint twinkle as the sunlight reflect off of one of the silver decorations from his robe that he had dropped.

The guards set up tents and broke out the midday rations. Before long, one came over and pushed the two roughly into one of the tents. Once he had provided them with food and water, he left the two boys to stand outside the doorway. "So," Rick asked quietly as he tried to get situated in a way that his weight didn't rest solely on his injured leg, "what was that you were looking at?"

Ardeth smiled, gently rubbing his wrists and neck, since the ropes had been taken off for the rest period. "Nothing much," he murmured, then twisted his robe a little to show Rick the spots where the bits of silver had been pulled off.

Rick nodded, seemingly without interest. Then, he locked eyes with Bey, puzzled. "Hey have you ever known these guys to hold back on their prisoners when something upsets them?"

"No. Why? Have you upset someone already?" Ardeth asked, concerned for his friend. Once he could move his fingers again without pain, he divided the food between the two of them, placing the canteen as the centerpiece of their little picnic.

O'Connell stifled a laugh, and then quieted so as not to draw the guards' attention. "If I did, he has incredible restraint for someone who seems to hate us so much. When Alack-nah found you waiting for him by his horse, I could hardly stop myself from laughing at the look on his face. But quietly!" He put his hands up immediately to assuage Ardeth's apparently growing concern. Then, he cocked his head slightly in apprehension. "But I know that the guy I ride with heard me, because he elbowed me, but not as hard as someone his size and strength could have." He shook his head, confused.

"Interesting," Ardeth murmured, then sighed softly. "Until we know more, don't mention this again. If he is on our side, we don't want to give him away."

Rick nodded in agreement and began to eat the food before he noticed how stiff the movement in Ardeth's hands were. His face turned grim. "They're tying your ropes too tight," he said with barely concealed anger.

"It's not that bad. If it's only for a few hours, I can deal with it," Ardeth told him, holding up his wrists for inspection. "They will be fine."

The older boy examined his wrists carefully. He was concerned because he had seen similar situations in Cairo. Sometimes, the city gangs tied up random kids as an initiation and left them to either free themselves or wait until they were freed by someone else. In most instances, the ropes had been too tight for too long, and the victim of the prank lost their fingers. But after a few seconds of checking, Rick seemed satisfied that Ardeth’s hands had not been without circulation for too long. He sighed in relief as he relinquished the prince’s hands again.

“Eat your food, my friend. It would be wise for us both to get as much rest as possible.” Ardeth carefully checked the area for any poisonous desert creatures, then leaned onto one elbow to eat his own food.

Rick obeyed and quickly finished off his ration. He then leaned over to check that he had tied the bandage around his leg tightly so that it wasn't going to fall off anytime soon. He winced as he realized that at least a couple of grains of sand had gotten into the laceration and were now grated painfully against the raw, angry skin.

"What's wrong?" the younger boy asked when he saw Rick's wince. He sat up straighter, wincing himself as the collar of his robe brushed against the rope burn around his neck.

"Nothing," Rick waved his hand dismissively. "A little sand got in the bandage, but not much."

Ardeth opened the canteen and took a swallow, then held it out to Rick. "I'll clean it out for you in a bit—we'll probably continue in two hours and go into the night this time."

"Thanks, buddy." Rick took the proffered water tin and sipped, careful not to take too much. He'd been wondering something but was hesitant to ask Ardeth. It might not be something he'd want to think about yet. No, he thought, it can wait. I'll ask him tonight. Not when he's facing a long hard run. He closed the lid of the canteen tightly and then lay back on the rug closing his eyes.

Settling down next to him, Ardeth fell asleep almost immediately. Two hours later, the young Med-jai woke up as he heard the sounds of the guards preparing to continue their journey. Quickly, he got another mouthful of water, then shook Rick's shoulder. "Are you awake, my friend?"

The older boy only grunted sleepily and rolled over, trying to go back to sleep.

Rolling his eyes, Ardeth pushed Rick so he was lying on his back, then quickly removed the bandage around his leg. Using just a tiny bit of water, he washed out the injury, then shook out the bandage and inspected it carefully before retying it around Rick's leg.

Waking up more fully, Rick blinked sleepily up at his friend. "Hey, what's going on?" Then backlit by the sun, he saw the shadows of men approaching the tent. "Oh," he groaned. "Time to go."

"Have some more water, quickly," Ardeth ordered, dumping the sand out of his boots and standing just before the guards came in.

Rick grabbed the canteen and took a quick swallow of water. The guard resumed tying them up, and Rick shot Ardeth a wry grin. "Wow, this feels oddly familiar doesn't it?"

The younger boy laughed softly. "Indeed it does, my friend," he answered and winced as the guard put the rope loop around his neck again.

They were both walked out to the horses again, Rick riding behind the guard and Ardeth waiting for Alack-nah by his horse.

Minutes later, they were on their way again. It was harder going, since the sand was so hot from the noonday sun and reflected the light back into everyone's eyes.

By the time they stopped for the night, Rick was parched, and he knew Ardeth would have to be, too. As soon as he got down from the horse, he ran over to check on him.

The younger boy looked completely exhausted and was barely managing to stay upright. His neck was bleeding some because he had fallen several times near the end and been dragged before managing to stagger back to his feet.

Rick swore inwardly. He ran up beside his friend and put his arm under his shoulder to give him support. As gently as he could, he helped him into the tent. There, he rolled up the rug that had been laid out for them, propping it up slightly for Ardeth to lie on. "Rest here for a minute, buddy." He quickly went over to the guards at the door. But it took him a second to get a polite request for water out without being tempted to lay into them for what they had done to Bey in making him run all this way. Having secured the canteen, he ran back over to Ardeth's side. Rick then tore the sleeve of his shirt away and poured a very small amount of their water into the cloth before turning to his friend. "Are you strong enough to sit up for a drink?"

"Help me sit up?" Ardeth asked, unable to make his hands cooperate—his arms were trembling too much to use to lever himself up.

Rick nodded and helped support him as held the canteen to Ardeth's lips. He let him drink as much as he could take, but slowly, afraid that he was becoming dehydrated.

After just a few mouthfuls, Ardeth turned away. "That's enough for now—we have to make that last the night. Thank you, my friend," he murmured, then managed a slight smile. "This is a little further than I'm used to traveling on foot in one day."

Rick found he couldn't really return the smile just yet. "There's some sand in the burn around your neck. We should probably wash it."

Sighing softly, the Med-jai nodded. "You'll have to do it—I can't exactly see what I'm doing," he commented wryly and started working at the clasps of his robe to take it off so that the high collar wasn't in the way.

Rick nodded. Once the robe was out of the way, he began to clean the burn as gently as he could with the cloth he had torn. He shook his head, his eyes glistening in the torchlight with sorrow and frustration, sad to see his friend so exhausted and hurt. "You are not doing this alone again," he promised.

Ardeth glared at him. "You really want to join in on this? One of us ought to be healthy—well, relatively speaking."

"Well then it's going to have to be you," Rick replied, then trying to joke, he chuckled. "Besides you're the more diplomatic one. Me, I'm just good at causing trouble." Once he had finished cleaning the burn, he took off the kerchief around his neck and checked it to make sure it was clean before tying it as carefully as he could around Ardeth's. "There, that should at least help to protect your neck."

"Thank you, my friend." Ardeth leaned back against the rolled up rug again, absently rubbing his wrists. "So, how did it go with your escort this afternoon?"

"It was weird," Rick said, shaking his head. "He kept throwing glances over his shoulder. It was very subtle. At first, I didn't notice it, ‘cause he changed the direction of his horse slightly each time to hide it better. He didn't say anything, but I think he was checking up on your progress."

Grimacing a little, the younger boy sighed again. "I certainly provided plenty of entertainment to Alack-nah. Tomorrow's going to be a very long day."

Rick sighed. "Maybe I shouldn't have goaded him so much in our last fight," he murmured thoughtfully. "At least now I can help take some of the heat off you." Just then, a red guard entered the tent. Rick recognized the same man he had traveled with for the past two days. But still cautious, he rose and stood defensively between the man and Ardeth.

Struggling with uncooperative limbs, Ardeth somehow managed to sit up. "Is there something you need?" the boy asked warily, too weary to attempt to play any word games.

The red guard checked to make sure the flap to the tent closed behind him before bowing low to Ardeth. "Your Majesty." The voice was low so that the guards around the campfire could not overhear. "I apologize that I could not reveal myself to you before. I feared that if they knew my true loyalties, I could do nothing to assist you.”

Surprised, Ardeth studied the man intently for a moment before dipping his head in acknowledgement of the honorific. "I appreciate all that you've been able to do, keeping my friend safe."

"I am honored to serve." Here, he glared at Rick. "You have ill timing for a sense of humor."

Rick looked at him defensively. "Hey, it was funny. Besides I kept quiet."

"Maybe you can convince my friend how unwise it would be to start drawing attention to himself," Ardeth told the man, leaning back against the rug and starting to chafe his wrists again as best as he could.

The man eyed Rick in disbelief. "Surely, even he wouldn't be so foolish."

Rick cocked his eyebrow. "Oh, yes, he would." But he quickly cut off the Med-jai's protests. "Look, can you think of a better way I can help Ardeth? If they're paying attention to me, they're not paying attention to him."

"They will always pay attention to me. I'm Med-jai, after all," Ardeth muttered and shook his head. "You shouldn't stay in here much longer, or they will get suspicious."

The man nodded and rose. "If you need anything, I am outside the door. Speak to me, and I will help you however I can."

"I thank you for your aid. It is most appreciated," the boy said, bowing his head once again.

The man bowed before the prince again, then left the tent.

Rick sighed in relief. "Well, that could be helpful. Finally, some good news." Then, he remembered the question he had been meaning to ask Ardeth since their midday rest. He figured now would be as safe as it would get to ask, now that things were looking up. "Hey, how do you think your dad is going to react to the news of your abduction?"

The boy sighed heavily. "He will mobilize all of the Med-jai tribes that are not on duty protecting the sacred sites. If they must, they will search every inch of the Sahara. It will not be pleasant for anyone involved."

Rick looked down, not seeing anything in front of him as he tried to picture it. He felt a pang of sorrow when he tried to think how the Med-jai king would feel searching such a vast desert for Ardeth, not knowing if he'd see him alive again. Rick shuddered and tried to shake off the feeling. He couldn't imagine—didn't want to imagine—grief like that.

"Unfortunately, this means that Father will confine me to my room for the rest of my natural life. He's always complained about my 'unnatural ability to attract anything within a thousand leagues that will cause any sort of trouble'." Ardeth shook his head.

Rick laughed, trying to picture Ardeth being grounded. "Your dad sounds like he knows you pretty well." He settled on the rug next to his friend, resting his arms on his knees. "What's your dad like?"

"My father, Suleimon, is a good man. He has fulfilled his duty as a Med-jai since he was old enough to receive the markings of manhood. He is kind, but very stern. I don't know what he was like before he became the king, or before my mother died, but I have heard that he laughed more often then. He is very just, and he works hard to find other solutions than just killing anyone who wanders into territory they shouldn't be in like my grandfather. I miss him," Ardeth said quietly.

Rick placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. Meeting Ardeth's gaze, he smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. You'll see him again soon. And then, you and I can devise a way to escape from your room when he locks us both away."

Laughing quietly, the younger boy smiled at his friend. "I will hold you to that, Rick. Well. I hope they don't forget to feed us tonight. I don't know about you, but I'm rather hungry."

At just that moment, the red-clad Med-jai came back in with their rations of food for the night. "Thank you," Rick said as he split the food for the two of them. He did so out of Ardeth's line of sight so that the prince couldn't see that he was giving Bey more than he was keeping for himself.

Ardeth took the food gratefully and didn't even try to sit up to eat. He glanced up at their unexpected ally. "How long is it to our destination?" he asked quietly, trying to assess his own strength.

"We travel southwest for another three days."

"Figures," Rick groaned as he sat down with his own plate. "So where are we headed?"

"Southwest three days—that will bring us very near to Hamunaptra!" Ardeth murmured, eyes wide.


	12. Favors from the Enemy

Rick cast his glance between Ardeth and their ally, fear showing in his stance. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" He let his head hit the tent support he was leaning against. "We only just barely stopped the party these guys started at the museum, and this time we don't have a plaque."

Shuddering at the thought of the Creature at Hamunaptra being awoken, Ardeth shook his head. "It won't come to that. There is a permanent guard at Hamunaptra, and they will not allow anyone there to awaken anything."

"What if this was the plan they had all along?" Rick thought aloud. "Bring you close enough to Hamunaptra to where the armies camped out here guarding it would be diverted from that job to try to save you, while they try to take over the ruins."

Ardeth shook his head. "The warriors guarding Hamunaptra do not leave their duty for any reason, except a direct order from the king. And Father will not give that order, even for me. No one person's life is worth letting the evil at Hamunaptra being awoken."

Rick nodded, understanding the importance of this policy. "But still, if that is their plan, that might be able to work to our advantage. They'll have to divide their numbers, a group to attempt to take the city and a group to keep watch over us. We won't have as many to fight against if we do have to escape, and we’ll have… well, something of a refuge to fall back to if needs be."

"This is true. If we don't get a chance before then, we will plan to make our escape attempt then." Ardeth finished his food and took a few more swallows of water.

"I must go now," the ally said as he rose. "I'll be right here at the door. Sleep well." And with that he was gone.

Rick yawned slightly as he checked the tent as Ardeth had the night before. "You need to get some sleep now," he told him as he pulled Ardeth's outer robe over him to shield him from the cold night.

Ardeth lay still, bemused, as Rick tucked him in. "You do realize I'm more than capable of tucking myself in, right?"

Rick smiled. "You're still exhausted and don't need to be moving any more than necessary right now. Am I wrong?"

"I suppose not. Don't make a habit of this, though—I am, after all, supposed to be a fierce desert warrior." Ardeth sighed softly as he forced himself to relax, knowing he would be asleep in seconds. "Get plenty of rest yourself," he ordered as his eyes slipped closed.

"Trust me, I plan to," Rick said with a grunt as he settled down beside his friend. Then, something shimmering in the lantern light caught his eye. Something was in the sand where their friend had been sitting. He ran over and picked up the small knife. It was very small and would be easy to conceal. And incredibly sharp, he learned when he tested it on his shirt material. Placing it in a rag, he buried it in the sand next to the support strut so it could be easily found the next morning. He didn't want to risk sleeping on it and accidentally impaling himself, but he also didn't want to leave it in the open and run the risk of the temple guards finding it and discovering that they had another Med-jai in their midst. And since he had a history of hidden weapons with these temple guards, he felt it would probably be safer with Ardeth. As he drifted away, he kept reminding himself not to leave the knife behind.

The next morning, Ardeth didn't wake up before Rick, for once. Neither of the boys woke up until their breakfast and morning water ration was delivered, but Ardeth didn't even stir when the man came in.

Rick started dividing up their food and didn't wake his friend till he had finished. "Hey, Ardeth, wake up," he said as he gently placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Ardeth jerked violently and grabbed Rick's wrist with one hand, reaching with the other for a dagger that wasn't on his belt. Then, blinking at Rick, he released his alarmingly weak grip as he recognized the other boy. "I slept in? How long till we leave?"

"Another hour." Rick shook his head. "Apparently even with you running behind them, we've made good time." Then, he scooted the plate of food and the canteen closer. "Eat, breakfast is ready." He sat down beside Ardeth. He put the rag in the younger boy’s hand. "A gift from our friend," he spoke quietly. "Be careful with that. We need some place to hide it, any ideas?"

Glancing at the blade, Ardeth's eyes widened. "This is one of the Med-jai blades." He quickly removed the knife sheath from his belt and slid the knife into it, then put it into his boot. "A little uncomfortable, but I doubt they'll look there—they've seen me empty the sand out several times."

"Good," Rick agreed. "I figured after the thing I did with my bracer, they'd find it on me." Then, he grinned from ear to ear, wondering what mischief he could pull to get him running back with Ardeth. He thought since Alack-nah probably hated him already, it wouldn't take too much doing to see to it.

Finishing his food, Ardeth gratefully drank some of the water. He was trained to deal with dehydration and the effects of the desert, but this was taxing his reserves to the extreme.

"You ready for this?" Rick asked as he turned to Ardeth.

"I don't know. Sleeping helped, but it will be a very long day. How is your leg doing?" Ardeth asked, tearing two strips off of his shirt to wrap around his wrists and hopefully protect them a little more.

"It's a little stiff, but it'll be fine," he assured his friend.

The younger boy looked at his shirt and shook his head. "At this rate, I'm not going to have much of a shirt left by the time we reach our destination," he murmured.

Rick chuckled. "I think by the time we get there, that'll be the least of our problems."

"That is true. Do you have cloth for your wrists and neck, then, since I assume you're not going to let me talk you out of this plan again?"

Rick tore off his other sleeve and tied it around his wrists and neck. Then, he scoffed. "Neither of us will have much left of our shirts by the time we get there."

"Yes, but I at least have my robe. You need more protection against the sun," Ardeth observed with a slight smile.

The older boy thought hard. He doubted the red guards would give him something for protection. They’d probably love to watch me fry, he thought ruefully. And he didn’t want to ask their ally for it, because it would be too obvious of a change and would lead to questions. No, he couldn’t risk revealing their man among the temple guard ranks. Rick looked down at his sleeveless arms and casually thought that he wouldn’t be as hot this way. But even not having been in the desert long, he knew enough from nomads and travelers that entered Cairo that this would be a deadly mistake to make.

“Well, maybe we can trade my robe back and forth. Although, I’m not certain it will fit you very well,” Ardeth murmured, glancing down at the black material perfectly fitted to him. “You’re a bit taller and more heavily built that I am.”

Rick waved his hand dismissively. "No, that's ok. I'll think of something else. Maybe Alack-nah would be willing to part with his?" he joked, a wicked glint dancing in his eye.

"My friend, you are impossible!" Ardeth declared with a grin that faded as soon as several of the guards stepped into their tent. Sighing in resignation, the boy stood and didn't resist them.

Rick, however, sat crossing his legs. This is where the fun begins, he thought, taking maybe a little more pleasure in this than he ought. "I'm not going out there. I'm tired of all this traipsing through the desert. Take us home to Cairo immediately," he ordered as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the tent's main support.

Ardeth promptly had to bite his lip and duck his head to keep the guards from realizing he was laughing at them. All three were staring at Rick, completely surprised and bewildered by this. Finally, one of them went over to Rick and tugged on his arm. "Get up, boy. We don't have time for this."

"No," Rick shook them off, indignant. "I'm not moving, and you can't make me." They could, and he knew it. But he didn't let even a hint of this knowledge show through, hiding behind the facade of over-confidence.

One of the guards worked on tying Ardeth up, while the other two did their best to get Rick up, which turned out to be incredibly frustrating. Finally, one of them went and got Alack-nah. The man scowled when he came in to find Rick sitting on the ground, not tied up at all. "What is going on here?"

"Ah, just the man I wanted to see," Rick said, smiling smugly. "I'm not moving one inch further. I'm tired of this game, and I want to go home. I demand you take my friend and I back to Cairo immediately." His words were more like a statement that seemed to expect obedience simply with their utterance.

Ardeth was barely able to conceal his laughter at the shocked expression on Alack-nah's face. After a moment, he glared at the defiant whelp. "Since you're apparently feeling so much better, brat, you'll be running with your little Med-jai princeling today!" he snarled.

Inwardly, the boy was cheering in triumph, but he had to keep up the ruse, so he continued to nag the leader. "I can't run in this heat! I have nothing to wear," he said, glancing at his shirt. "Look what you've done to this! This was my best shirt!" In truth, it was his best shirt and one of his only three shirts, the other two back at the orphanage. He looked up at the leader. "I refuse to travel under these conditions."

"You will travel in these conditions if I say so! Get up, street brat, before you get hurt," Alack-nah warned as one of the guards grabbed Rick's arm and tried to tug him to his feet again.

Rick's expression was sulky as they dragged him. "Alright, fine. But I'm not running under this sun without a robe or something! What about yours?" he said, eyeing the man's robe appraisingly. "You may be used to this heat, but I'm not." Just at that moment, there was a commotion outside. Alack-nah motioned for his men to bring the boys and walked outside to see what was going on.

A lone Tuareg had wandered into the camp and was begging for water, claiming that he had been lost in the desert for days. All the time he asked for water, his eyes wandered around the campsite, appraising the men, horses, and any valuables that were visible.

The guards had him on either side. As the leader approached, his steely gaze swept over the traveler. He recognized him from before. A local bandit, not a Med-Jai or anyone that he should fear. Still, he had seen their camp and would tell others, if bribed, about their location. The boys were dragged out of the tent, Rick struggling for all that he was worth, half-glad that now he wasn't having to pretend to cooperate. But he stopped for a moment and took in the scene. The guards fighting to get him out of the tent took advantage of his momentary distraction and quickly fitted a leash around his neck. Rick was too busy watching the Tuareg and Alack-nah to notice.

Alack-nah glanced over his shoulder at Rick, gaze sweeping over the boy's bare arms. Then, he smirked. Turning back to the bandit in front of him, Alack-nah yanked out his scimitar and, seconds later, was staring down at a corpse. "You shouldn't have come into our camp, bandit," he spat, then turned away. "Take his robe and give it to the boy," he commanded as he strode over to his horse.

Rick’s gaze didn’t leave the open eyes of the Tuareg, staring up, unseeing, into the desert sky, even as they placed the man’s robes around him. He didn’t say anything as the red guards tied the other end of his and Ardeth’s leashes to Alack-nah’s saddle. He had gotten what he had asked for at the expense of another’s life. As he stared down at the body, he realized that he couldn’t bring himself to irritate Alack-nah anymore for right now.

"Rick!" Ardeth's whisper caught the other boy's attention a moment later. "Are you all right?" the younger boy asked, studying Rick's face carefully.

"Yeah," he replied absently. Then finally wrenching his eyes from the grip of the dead man's gaze, he shook his head and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm ok." His face was grimly set, but he was determined to leave this man's face in the desert behind them. After another breath, he raised his eye to meet Ardeth's and nodded assuring his friend that he'd be alright.

Still concerned for his friend, Ardeth didn't get a chance to say anything else. The group started forward, forcing the boys to start running. It was going to be a very long day.

Rick had to concentrate to keep his steps even in the sand, trying not to favor his injured leg too much and tire the strong one too soon. But the rest and food had helped, and he kept up fairly well most of the time. He considered it an accomplishment that he only fell and got dragged once, though he was still tasting the sand hours later.

At noon, they stopped again, and both boys were very grateful for the break. They were untied and dragged into a tent with food and water thrown at them. After scanning the sand for any threats, Ardeth sat down, completely exhausted. "How are you doing, my friend? Is your leg all right?"

"It’s talking, but not as much as I thought it would actually." He was grateful for that. Rick began spitting sand out of his mouth as best he could. The fall had irritated him, and by now, he was back to his usual self. He turned and looked at Ardeth as he began to divide the food between them. "Is that kerchief helping any?" He had been a little afraid that it would chafe his friend's neck as much as the rope did if he hadn't tied it right.

"It's helping some, I think—it's a little difficult to tell," Ardeth murmured, accepting the food Rick handed him. "How is your neck? You didn't stay down long, but it is painful, I know."

"Not sure yet. I think I may be an inch or two taller, and I don't think I'll taste anything but sand ever again." This was more than illustrated by the crunching noise in his mouth as he ate that both of them knew was not coming from the food. He smiled ruefully at Ardeth.

The younger boy's lips quirked slightly. "Yes, I did forget to warn you to keep your mouth closed when you fell, didn't I? I was fortunate, the first day, since they gagged me—when I fell then, I didn't get any sand in my mouth."

"I'm not too worried. They'll probably want to gag me before long anyways," Rick said, laughing. "How are you holding up though?"

With a sigh, the younger boy shook his head. "I'm not certain I'll make it the entire way. I've already been running two days? Three? I'm not certain anymore," the boy said, absently picking at the filthy bandage wrapped around his left arm.

“Three, counting today," Rick said, thinking. "They're supposed to get you there alive, so they've got to give you a horse sometime soon, right?"

"We can always hope." Giving up on the food, Ardeth drank some of the water, then carefully unwrapped the bandage from around his arm and winced. Apparently some dirt had gotten past the bandage—the cut was infected.

Rick winced as he saw it. "I should have cleaned that last night." He untucked the little of his shirt that remained tucked in and tore away some more of the fabric, inspecting it for cleanliness. Now that he had a robe over his clothes, he didn't have to worry so much about using it for bandaging their wounds so often. Soaking it down, he sighed. "This isn't going to be much fun, for either of us."

Ardeth sighed softly. "The stitches need to be cut open. Check and see if there's anyone around, then we can use that thing that I've been stepping on all day."

Rick grimaced at how painful that sounded as he moved to the door. All the guards were busy setting up the camp. Rick nodded as he moved back towards Ardeth. "That thing hasn't cut into your foot has it?" he asked with some concern.

"No, the sheath is lined with metal to prevent that. It's just a little uncomfortable." Ardeth pulled his boot off and turned it upside down, spilling out the knife and a small stream of sand.

Rick picked it up and positioned it over Ardeth's arm, waiting for Ardeth's approval before proceeding. After a nod, Rick cut open the stitches and began to clean out the wound. While the cut was sore and swollen, the infection was not as bad as he had first suspected. He sighed in relief, glad to know they had caught it early. He had seen infections with a wound this deep poison the bloodstream, bringing the victim to a slow and excruciating death. Slowly, the muscles in his body relaxed. No, he's going to be okay, even though he may not feel like that right now.

Once Rick was done cleaning out the wound, Ardeth sighed wearily. "Thank you, my friend," he whispered, making a face at the bloody mess that was his arm.

"No problem," Rick answered as he bandaged up the wound. "I wouldn't let any of our friends see that if I were you," he said, pointing to the fresh bandage, then moving to clean up the mess he had made and hide the knife again. Propping the rug up again for Ardeth, he helped him lean back to rest.

"I don't intend to. I'm not going to be able to eat any more right now—you better finish my food." Ardeth said, handing over almost all of his portion—he had only been able to eat a few bites.

Rick looked questioningly at Ardeth.

"I cannot finish this, or I will be sick. In the desert, it is important to never waste food, and I don't even want to know what the guards would do if they thought it was wasted."

Rick nodded as he reluctantly accepted the food. He suspected his friend was becoming dehydrated and held the canteen towards him. "You think you can keep any more water down?”

"Not yet. I'll try more before we start out this afternoon. On the plus side, if I do collapse, they will have to treat us somewhat better." the younger boy commented wryly, carefully resting his arm on his chest and closing his eyes.

Rick gave a weak smile back. "I don't want it to come to that, and I know you don't either." Dehydration and fighting off an infection, just our luck. But he knew better than to say things couldn't get worse. He'd never had good experiences accompanying that phrase. He knew he'd have to keep a close eye on his friend just in case something did go wrong, that he could help him quickly.

"Maybe we can convince them to tie our hands in front of us instead of behind our backs. That would make it so much easier," Ardeth's voice was sleepy, and seconds later, he had fallen asleep. Only this time, his sleep was restless, and he tossed and turned in the stifling air in the tent.

As exhausted as Rick was, he couldn't sleep. He went to the tent door to speak to the guard standing there. It was a different guard than the one they had had the day before. Alright, he thought, diplomacy. "Excuse me sir?" he asked, trying to speak as politely as he could. The guard turned around and regarded him with obvious disdain. Oh, I can tell this is going to go well, Rick thought, but he kept deference in his voice, and his words were respectful. "May I ask that my friend ride for the rest of our trip?"

"Is the little Med-jai all tired out from having to walk?" the man sneered, glancing over Rick's shoulder at where Ardeth lay sleeping.

Rick exhaled quietly a second before answering, his gaze and tone still calm. "I think he's getting sick and may not last another run."

Studying the young Med-jai for a moment, the guard finally nodded. "I will let Alack-nah know before we leave—he will be the one to decide."

"Thank you," Rick said with genuine gratitude. He walked back over to Ardeth, letting his hand rest on his forehead for a moment, grimacing as his fears were confirmed. The younger boy’s skin was flushed and disconcertingly warm to the touch, even for running under the sun all day.

Ardeth woke with a start when Rick touched him. "Rick? What are you doing?" he asked in confusion.

"Sorry," Rick said, sitting back, unable to hide the concern on his face. "I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep. I'll wake you when it's time to go."

Ardeth narrowed his eyes at Rick. "Just what were you doing?" he asked, once again pulling his injured arm against his chest.

"Just checking on you," Rick assured him. "You're thrashing a bit…well, more than a bit. You're feeling kind of feverish."

Shrugging, the other boy closed his eyes again. "That's to be expected—after all, a lot has happened in the past several days. I will be fine."

Rick nodded but wasn't so convinced. He sighed. You will be if somehow Alack-nah agrees to give you a horse, I hope. "Well, this has been a fun first trek into the desert. Next time, though, let's go by ourselves. No more temple guards to keep us company, they just bring the party right down."

"I like that plan. It will just be you and me, our horses, and my faithful Horus. Then I will show you the true freedom of the desert . . ." Ardeth's voice trailed off as he fell asleep.

Rick smiled, whispering, "I'll hold you to that, buddy." He stayed up the rest of the time watching Ardeth sleep. As the soldiers started to break down the camp, he turned to Ardeth. His friend had slept so fitfully, he was really loathed to wake him. But he wanted to see if he could take some more water before they started out. He laid a hand on the prince's shoulder. "Hey, time to go."

Sitting up, Ardeth yawned. "Well, that didn't help very much," he commented wryly, then shook his head. "Is there still some water left?"

"Yeah, here you go." He handed Ardeth the canteen, then went to watch from the tent door as the guard went to ask Alack-nah about the horse.

Making certain none of the guards were looking, Ardeth secured the knife to his ankle with a piece of cloth, so he wouldn't be walking on it, then dumped the sand out of his other boot. After drinking several more swallows of water, he stood and went over to Rick, handing the canteen to him. "Finish it up—you didn't drink nearly enough of it."

"No, I drank my share while you slept," Rick lied, still watching Alack-nah. Well, at least he seems to be handling the request well, he thought.

Ardeth rolled his eyes. "You need to work on your lies, my friend. I know exactly how much I have had to drink, and I know I've already had more than my share. You are not going to be able to keep going if you aren't drinking enough water."

“Nuts,” Rick groaned as he took the canteen from Ardeth. “You know someday, you gotta teach me how you do that.” Then as he took a small swig, he started backing away from the door quickly. “They’re coming.”

"Finish the water." Ardeth ordered, stepping slightly in front of Rick so that the older boy would have time to finish drinking.

Rick chugged the last bit before the guards stepped into the tent. He hoped that Alack-nah had agreed to the horse. The leader stepped closer to Ardeth, looking him over carefully, and it was all Rick could do to stand there and not say anything. Diplomacy, he said to himself. Now is not the time to tick him off.

Ardeth looked warily between Alack-nah and Rick, obviously confused, which was a major change from the face he worked so hard to present to the leader. The boy was pale, with two spots of color high in his cheeks.


	13. Ominous Visions

Alack-nah's eyes narrowed, but he looked at the other guard and nodded curtly. Rick closed his eyes in relief, hoping when they got to Hamunaptra that he and Ardeth didn't both end up regretting the fact that he had revealed the prince’s weakness. Alack-nah strode out of the tent and started issuing commands in Arabic.

Listening in for a moment, Ardeth turned to Rick, shaking his head. “He seems convinced that I’m going to die if I don’t get to ride. What exactly did you tell him?”

"That I thought you needed to ride the rest of the way," Rick said as the other guard walked over to him and began to bind his wrists.

Thankfully, it was their ally that came to retrieve Ardeth. The boy glanced back anxiously at Rick as he was led over to a horse but didn't dare say anything.

Rick looked down to hide a smile of contentment as they placed the rope around his neck. He couldn't believe it had actually worked. Maybe he would have to try this diplomacy thing more often. This did mean, though, that he couldn't risk causing any more trouble for the leader. But he really didn't mind that, so long as that meant that Ardeth would be okay for now.

As he was boosted onto the horse and his arms tied around the guard's waist, Ardeth sighed and tried to relax. He knew he was sick, but it was just from exhaustion and dehydration. He hoped that they would be going a little slower; since he wasn't running, the temple guards shouldn't feel the compulsion to test a Med-jai's strength.

As they went on through to the night, Rick fell a few more times but was smart enough to keep his mouth closed this time. As they came to a stop, he collapsed wearily to his knees, deciding to wait there until the tent was set up.

As soon as he was untied, Ardeth slid off the horse, absently resting a hand on the stallion's flank to keep him calm. The horse, normally very temperamental, didn't react to Ardeth at all. The boy hurried over to Rick. "Are you all right, my friend?"

"Yeah," Rick panted between gasps for air. "But I think I'll just sit here for a few seconds." He fell face-first into the sand. After a moment, he rolled over and looked up at Ardeth. "So, how you doing?" he asked casually.

Settling down next to his friend, Ardeth considered the question. "Some better. Not having to run certainly helps a great deal. Hopefully tomorrow, they'll let both of us ride."

Rick gave a tired nod as he looked up at the stars. After a moment, the red Med-Jai came over. "Get up!" he ordered gruffly. Rick groaned as he attempted to stand.

Ardeth scrambled to his feet and offered Rick his good arm. His left arm he kept close to his side, hoping to keep attention away from it.

"Your tent is ready," the guard said as he turned and led the way.

Rick leaned on Ardeth, grateful for his support. "Thanks, buddy."

They got inside, and their ally handed them their rations and water. Rick let himself plop to the rug. The disguised Med-jai cut the rope from around his hands, then left. Rick massaged his wrists a moment before starting to divide the food.

Ardeth was examining the sand in their tent for anything dangerous and suddenly jumped away from one of the corners of the tent with an exclamation of surprise. "Rick, get up now," the boy ordered, backing away carefully. "There's a nest of asps in the corner."

Now, Rick was exhausted, but at that moment, he learned that nothing is more motivating then to hear the word "asps" when you're out in the middle of the desert. He was up and at the door of the tent in a heartbeat.

Ardeth froze, staring down at a large snake right between his boots. His boots would protect him from a bite to his feet, but if one of the snakes managed to bite higher, he would be in trouble. "Tell the guard, quickly. I don't dare move."

Rick started shouting as loud as he could. Immediately, the guard at the door rushed in and, seeing the snakes at Ardeth's feet, drew his scimitar.

"Move slowly," Ardeth snapped at the man as the snake shifted closer to him in agitation. "There's an entire nest of them in the corner."

The guard's lip curled slightly at being ordered around by this Med-jai whelp. But he did as he was told, knowing it would mean a slow death for him if anything happened to the prince on his watch.

"Rick, go get several torches, please." Ardeth turned his attention to the guard. "Toss me your scimitar so that I can kill this snake."

Rick was out the door instantly, grabbing the first torch he saw out of the sand right in front of the tent, then running it back inside and handing it carefully to Ardeth, about to dash out again to go fetch more. The guard in the tent hesitated a moment before consenting and handing over the sword. But then, he drew his dagger and grabbed Rick by the hair, pressing the blade to his throat. "Kill the snake, but if you try anything boy..." He pulled the knife tighter. A drop of blood trailed down Rick's throat, illustrating the point.

Ardeth's dark, burning gaze fixed on the guard, even as he caught the sword and killed the snake, all without looking away from the man's eyes. Then, he threw the sword so that it landed neatly in the sand next to the guard, hilt up. "Now, release my friend."

The guard held his glare a moment longer before letting go of Rick. Rick shoved away from him, wiping away the blood from his neck.

Still fixing the guard with the full power of a disapproving royal Med-jai's gaze, Ardeth took the torch from Rick and tossed it into the corner, revealing the mass of snakes. Finally releasing the guard, Ardeth turned to Rick. "Let's go outside—it's safer out there."

Rick nodded, and the two walked outside the tent, only to be greeted by a horde of the guards who had gathered because of the commotion.

“Maybe not,” Rick commented dryly as both he and Ardeth were hoisted up off the ground by temple guards.

Alack-nah stepped forward and glared at both in turn. "What happened?"

"There is a nest of asps in the corner. I'm surprised whoever set up the tent is not already dead," Ardeth told him calmly, flushed both from his anger at the guard and his fever.

Alack-nah stepped closer to the boy, staring icily at him. "Then, where is the guard I set watch over you? You must understand how suspicious it looks when you walk out of the tent alive and he is missing." At that moment, the guard in question stepped outside of the tent. Alack-nah's head whipped around, and he stalked over to the man, who looked frightened for his life at the dangerous expression in his commander’s eyes.

"He was inside dealing with the snakes near the entrance, I'm certain. He assumed you didn't want either of us killed by the asps, so he allowed us to come out here where it is safer," Ardeth told Alack-nah, hoping to possibly win another ally by showing unexpected mercy.

But Alack-nah was furious. "Silence, Med-jai!" When he had seen Rick running out to grab a torch and run back in with it, he had been convinced that the boys were making their escape. And if they had, that would mean he would have to answer to his superiors. He turned to the guard again. "It was your job to set up the prisoners' tent, was it not?"

The guard, terrified, could only nod. He knew what Alack-nah planned to do and knew his fate would only be worse if he resisted.

Alack-nah's eyebrows raised in a wicked show of pleasure at the abject terror he could command, even over his own men. "A nest of snakes in the corner would have made a clever diversion, possibly allowing the prisoners to make their escape." He was circling the man. "Or if they had been bitten, they could have died. Two potential scenarios, both leaving us without leverage to reclaim the sacred city of Hamunaptra."

At the mention of Hamunaptra, Ardeth's shoulders tensed, and he lifted his chin angrily. He would do whatever it took to prevent the temple guards from forcing his father to make the decision to protect Hamunaptra over his son's life.

Alack-nah stopped as he completed the circuit, standing once again in front of his underling. His eyes bored through him like daggers. "An unacceptable misstep, wouldn't you agree?"

Face pale, the man swallowed hard, not daring to look away. "Yes, Alack-nah," he said, voice quavering slightly.

Without seeming to move, Alack-nah's knife flew through the air, and the man in front of him fell dead at his feet. He regarded the corpse for a moment before turning to two of his men. "Reposition the tent!" he ordered. "And inspect it thoroughly this time." Then, he spun on the boys who were still held in uplifted arms. "You two will dispose of this," he said, giving the body a kick before storming off.

Slowly, the guards began to move, the majority of them wandering off into the rest of the camp. The two selected to reposition the tent cautiously began their task, killing dozens of snakes in the process. Ardeth glanced over at Rick after they were dropped to the ground. "Are you all right, my friend?"

"Yeah, you?" He looked over at Ardeth, unaware that his hands had started to shake from the rush of adrenaline.

"I'm fine. Let's get our job done—I want to rest," Ardeth commented, glancing at the body of the man. Alack-nah had been so agitated, he hadn't even thought to have his own men remove any weapons the guard had been carrying.

Rick stood and grimaced as he and Ardeth got on either side of the body and began hauling it off to the edge of camp.

As they moved, Ardeth made certain to keep Rick between himself and the watching eyes of the guards. He used his left arm, which wasn't strong enough to lift the weight anyway, to search the man for any small knives and other useful objects.

Rick noticed his hand movement and subtly raised his eyes. Seeing what Ardeth was doing, a smile touched his face. He straightened his back, as if adjusting his hold on the man, to block as much of Ardeth as possible from view.

The younger boy found a case of matches, a small pocketknife, a bag of jerky, and a water canteen. He slipped all of them into his robes, replacing the water canteen with their own empty one from that morning in case anyone thought to look for it.

Once they had dumped the body, the guards took them back to the newly erected tent. One of the guards checked it first before the boys were allowed to enter, the death of their comrade fresh in their minds. Once they were alone, Rick collapsed to the rug. "Well, buddy, I think we've had a full day. A full week actually. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a vacation from this vacation."

"I like the sound of that plan. Shall we continue our supper?" he asked, finding that their food and water had been moved also.

Rick nodded, tired as he crawled over to his plate. "So, do you think Alack-nah was upset?"

"Yes, very upset. He is bordering on madness, I think," Ardeth murmured, sprawling out on one of the rugs and wearily taking his own food.

"Oh, I think he crossed that line a few days ago," Rick said around mouthfuls of food. "Did you see the cut I put in his leg before we were captured? Didn't even faze him," he commented, shaking his head.

"The desert has a way of bringing out the truth of the heart of people—I doubt he'll survive for much longer." Drinking eagerly, Ardeth carefully stopped himself from having too much at once and passed the canteen over to Rick.

Rick took a couple of swigs and then rolled onto his back. He closed his eyes and said yawning, “What do you mean?"

"Out here, there is nothing unless you bring it with you. If you have no strength of character or mind, you will not last long. The desert is not kind to the weak."

But Rick had already fallen asleep, Ardeth's words drifting towards him through a dream.

Ardeth smiled at his friend and made certain he was covered with the blanket they had been provided with. Then, curling up, he fell asleep himself.

Rick dreams were haunted by snakes and red guards, and then looming with foreboding, a great sandstorm buried them. Once the sandstorm had cleared, an ancient ruin stood on the horizon. He heard a voice echoing from the depths of that place in a language he didn't understand, but somewhere deep down, he knew that it was promising him the death of everything that he held dear. So when he felt a hand touch his shoulder wrenching him from sleep, he struck out in an effort to defend himself.

There was a gasp of surprise as his hand struck someone, then, his arm was grabbed and pulled firmly behind his back. "Rick, wake up!" Ardeth's voice was clear and very reassuring.

Rick recognized his friend. His face still filled with fear, he willed himself to relax. "Sorry," he said as he closed his eyes and fought to catch his breath. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, just startled me." Ardeth let go of Rick's arm and sat back. "That must have been an intense nightmare."

"Yeah," Rick breathed as he tried to shake it from his mind. He ran a hand through his hair. "I hate that dream."

Ardeth's gaze sharpened. "You've had it before, then?" the younger boy asked, pushing the canteen into Rick's hand.

"Yeah, the beginning was different, but it always has the same ending." He took some water, letting the cool liquid wash away his fear.

"That is . . . interesting. Do you have other reoccurring dreams, also?" Ardeth stood and went to the entrance of the tent, returning moments later with their meager breakfast.

“Once in a while, but mainly this one. I'm standing out in the middle of the desert, and this sandstorm buries everything in sight. But once it's gone, there's a ruin in front of me that wasn't there before the storm." He shuddered hesitant to continue.

Ardeth nodded, wondering if his friend was gifted with visions of the past or future in his sleep. That would not be pleasant to deal with.

Rick took a deep breath before finishing the description. "And then, I hear this voice coming from deep underneath the city. I don't know what it's saying, but I know it's evil…" His face contorted slightly as he tried to find the words to describe it. "…It's…death." He shook his head, confused. "Yeah, I really hate that dream."

"That sounds terrible," Ardeth told him sympathetically, deciding not to mention his suspicion that the dreams might be prophetic in nature. "Do you have any ideas on how to get them to give both of us rides today?"

Rick chuckled as he tilted his head and jokingly suggested, "I could start having convulsions on the floor?" He had only faked that once back in Cairo and done a fairly good job of it, he thought. He had certainly attracted quite a crowd and scared away the men who had been attacking him. Of course, that had been three years ago.

"I don't know—they might believe that to be contagious, and just kill you and leave you." Ardeth warned and glanced at the bandage on Rick's leg. "How is your leg doing?"

Okay, no convulsions, Rick thought nodding. "It hurts, but I'll be fine," he assured his friend in all seriousness. He stretched it and then stood, testing his weight on it. It was a little more wobbly than the day before, but it was holding up better than he had expected after that ordeal last night. "I think I'll be good if I have to run for another day."

"Let me have a look at it," Ardeth ordered, tugging gently on his arm.

Rick obediently sat down and opened the bandage for him.

Ardeth carefully examined Rick's injured leg, and nodded. "It's recovering well, my friend. You will have an impressive scar to show off later."

Rick laughed. "Well, I've gotta have something to show for this. At least the scar will make whatever story I come up with to explain my absence to Father Duncan believable. Don't worry, I won't tell him what really happened."

"We can always ask my uncle for help in concocting a story. He'll be excellent at that sort of thing, I'm certain." Ardeth carefully rinsed off Rick's leg to make certain there wasn't any sand in it, then carefully rebandaged it.

Rick hissed a little at the minor sting the colder water brought to his cut. "I'm sure he has to be," he said grinning. Once the bandage was tied, he reached for Ardeth's wounds. "Let's check your arm and neck before we leave."

Ardeth offered his arm first, letting the older boy wrestle with the stiff knot on the bandage. There was a fair amount of blood on the cloth—apparently being held up in the air last night by the guards had ripped open the scabs that had formed.

Rick grimaced. "Man, these guards must rip small animals apart for fun in their spare time!" He carefully began to wash the wound and then gently to tie a fresh strip of cloth around it. "Our friend back home is going to kill me for this." Rick knew Ardeth would understand that he was referring to Dr. Bey.

"Kill you because they injured me? No, my friend, we are the Med-jai, the protectors of mankind. We don't go around murdering without a very good reason." Ardeth told him in mock reassurance, scowling at his arm.

"Well, that's good to know," Rick teased back. After he had seen to Ardeth's arm, he checked the burn around Ardeth's neck. The ring of raw flesh was red and still very tender, but it was looking better than it would have without the added cloth protection. Well, there's that at least, Rick thought. From his position so close to Ardeth's ear, he whispered, "You didn't happen to find some aloe on our friend last night, did you?"

Shaking his head slightly, the boy reached into his robes and pulled out a small box with various herbs in it. "I didn't get a chance to look through this last night. See what you can identify."

Rick shuffled through the box. Fortunately—I think—I've been sunburned enough times to know what it looks like, he told himself. Finding it, he took it in one hand and closed the box with the other, handing back it to Ardeth. Then, he crushed the plant between his fingers. "This is gonna hurt," he warned him before he began to smear it as gently as he could over the damaged skin.

Ardeth closed his eyes and sat perfectly still as Rick worked. His face closed off, showing no expression whatsoever. Suddenly, his eyes opened. "Quick, put the bandage back on my neck—someone's coming!"


	14. In the Shadow of Hamunaptra

Rick tied the bandage off quickly, then stuck his hands in the sand quickly to mask the scent of the crushed aloe on his hands. He barely had time to wipe them off on the backs of his pant legs before the flap on the tent was thrown open.

Ardeth had spirited away the tin of herbs and stood very quickly, only to sway and nearly pass out from standing so fast. That definitely alarmed the guards who had come in.

And Rick, who moved as quickly as he could and caught his friend. "Ardeth?" Rick asked worriedly. The guards, paranoid from the night before, looked at each other for a second in grave alarm, fearing that their bodies would be left in the sand too that day.

The boy shook his head slightly and straightened. "I just stood up too fast. I'll be fine, I think," he murmured.

Rick waited for a second to be sure. Then, he released a sigh and stepped back. The guards approached timidly, half afraid to jinx the situation by breathing. Then angry at the boys for having startled them, one pulled Ardeth out to the horse roughly. The other began to tie Rick's wrists as tightly as he could. But Rick was only concerned about Ardeth.

"Hey," he snapped, "Watch it will you? You think jerking him around like that is going to help him any? Or you for that matter?" The man viciously backhanded Rick, stunning him for a moment, just long enough to throw the boy over his shoulder and carry him out to the horse. He threw him down into the sand, and another guard held him there while they placed the rope around his neck again.

Instantly, Ardeth started struggling against the guards holding him. In two quick movements, he was free and kneeling next to Rick. In his anger, the Med-jai forgot to speak in English and spat out several Arabic sentences that had the guards gently help Rick up and loosen the ropes around the older boy's wrists before they realized what they were doing.

Rick stared at Ardeth in awe. What did he say to them? he wondered. But there was no denying his presence had a commanding power, even when he was supposed to be a captive. Then, movement out of the corner of his eye drew his full attention. Alack-nah was standing over them.

Ardeth stood slowly. The boy faced Alack-nah, jaw set and chin high, swaying slightly but still determined. "Needless cruelty is a sign of weakness and must not be tolerated." Ardeth stated firmly, with a glare at the man who had struck Rick.

Alack-nah's dark face was red with rage. He didn't know who he wanted to hit more, Ardeth for standing up to him or the guard for his lapse in discipline. But if he struck or killed either of them, he’d only be proving Ardeth’s point. After a moment, he smirked. "Well spoken for a Med-jai," he said through clenched teeth.

Deciding not to push the leader's temper, the boy merely inclined his head in acknowledgement of the somewhat-compliment. Drawing himself up, Ardeth tried to control his swaying. "If my friend must run today, I will join him."

Rick was already shaking his head as vigorously as he could, trying to keep Ardeth from doing this. But the leader saw only the prince. He eyed Ardeth, their wills clashing. He could not allow him to run. He could already tell he would not make it to Hamunaptra by the way he swayed on his feet, though he could see that the boy was desperately trying to hide it.

Ardeth kept his eyes focused on the leader's, not daring to look away. He was not going to lose this battle, and he couldn't think of any other way to ensure that Rick got to ride.

At length, Alack-nah strode past the Med-jai, grabbed Rick by the collar of his shirt, and placed him roughly on his own horse. Then, he turned to Ardeth. "Tell your friend that if he causes me any trouble, I will personally slit his throat." Then, he walked off to finish gathering his own supplies before they left.

Ardeth's shoulders slumped in weariness as the confrontation ended, and he looked up at Rick. "Be very careful not to anger him at all—we both get to ride, but I think if either of us bothers him, he will kill you," the boy warned quietly.

Rick nodded. "Hey," he said, trying to catch Ardeth before he walked back to his own horse. As Ardeth looked back at him, he smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

With a slight smile and a bow of his head, the younger boy acknowledged his friend. "It is not necessary to thank me for doing what is right, my friend."

Rick laughed. "Usually, it is when it's done despite the tip of a sword, at least, it is for most people I've grown up with. Even so, thank you." It was in that moment Rick realized that Ardeth was the first person to risk his life for him. That at least deserves my gratitude, he thought.

With a grin and a wave of his hand, Ardeth returned to the Med-jai guard he was riding with. The boy was having problems staying upright now and intended to sleep for as much of the journey as he could. If they were to make any attempt at escape, he needed to be fully healthy.

Rick watched him go. Even though Bey was exhausted, the guards parted to make a way for him. The older boy chuckled to himself. He's king already and he doesn't even know it, he mused.

The new arrangement of having both boys ride meant they made much better time that day. Ardeth did spend most of the trip asleep, trusting their hidden ally to keep him upright and on the horse.

Rick was extra careful not to do anything that might seem provocative to Alack-nah, even though the leader periodically threw insults over his shoulder back at the boy. He wants to kill me, Rick thought, laughing to himself. He wants an excuse. But for both his and Ardeth's sake, he kept quiet the entire trip.

When they stopped that night, their ally moved quickly, getting Rick away from Alack-nah and keeping hold of Ardeth's arm. Then, he steered both boys over to the tent that had been set up and inspected twice, pushing them into it. "We'll be there by noon tomorrow," he whispered before leaving.

Rick nodded slightly in appreciation. Then, he walked over to the plates of food that had been brought for them and started tearing his bread into as many pieces as he could.

"What are you doing?" Ardeth asked sleepily, struggling to focus after a day of trying to sleep off a fever. Yawning, he found the canteen and drank a tiny bit.

Rick looked up at him confused for a moment. "Oh," he said when he saw Ardeth staring sleepily at the bread in his hands. "Father Duncan calls it ‘anger management’." After the pieces became so small he couldn't tear them down any further, he sighed. "Okay, I feel better now." Then, he began to try to shovel them away into his mouth.

The younger boy shook his head. "That's an interesting method. Father usually just takes me out into the practice courts and pounds me with hand-to-hand combat until I've got my emotions under control again. I think I like your method better."

Rick raised his eyebrows. "I think I like your way. Let's trade. But a priest can't really take a child under his care to do some boxing one-on-one. He had to get creative." He tilted his head, flashing a crooked smile. "And it works…most of the time."

"That is good—very good. How did it go, riding with Alack-nah?" Ardeth asked, starting to eat his own food.

Rick ran his hands through his hair and groaned.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" the young Med-jai asked immediately, concerned, looking his friend over carefully.

Rick was already shaking his head, looking at Ardeth to assure him. “No, but he wanted to. He kept insulting me, trying to provoke me into saying something so he could kill me. Heh, I guess my plan of getting under his skin is working.”

"I believe you are correct, my friend. Your plan is working—now that we have made it so that it isn't needed to work." Ardeth hid a yawn. "Did you get any rest?"

"Not really," Rick mumbled sheepishly. "I wasn't sure what he would do to either of us if my weight started tugging at him."

Ardeth snorted at that. "Yes, I can see how that would complicate matters. Well, we should probably go to sleep soon, then. We'll want to be as strong as possible in case if an opportunity arises tomorrow."

"Way ahead of you," Rick said, taking a last gulp of water before handing the canteen back to Ardeth. But before he lay down, he turned back to his friend. "Your neck? And your arm? Are they doing any better?"

"I don't know—I think so." Ardeth gently began unwrapping the cloth from around his arm. He hoped that the infection was completely gone, otherwise the tentative plans he had for an escape attempt wouldn't work.

Rick examined it. "It does look better. But still, just in case, hand me the box again." As Ardeth fished the tin out of his robes, Rick gently cleaned the wounds. Then taking another aloe leaf, he crushed it and applied it to the rope burn. Then, he carefully wrapped both injuries again. Satisfied, Rick lay down on the rug and closed his eyes.

"Thank you, my friend," Ardeth murmured, then glanced at Rick. "Before you sleep, let me see to your leg."

Rick rolled back over and sat up, untying the bandage.

Ardeth carefully tended to Rick's leg, making use of the various healing herbs from the tin. "Did you get any rope burn on your neck?"

"I'm not sure. Even through the cloth, it still rubs, and after a while, I couldn't tell any more." He pulled the cloth aside. "You tell me, how does it look, buddy?"

"Not bad—just a slight burn." Ardeth found another aloe leaf and quickly put the gel on Rick's neck. "Now you may sleep, my friend."

"Thanks. Don't forget to rest yourself." Rick rolled onto his side and was gone in a heartbeat.

Ardeth put away all of their supplies, making certain everything was hidden. Then, the boy settled down himself. In spite of sleeping a good deal of the day, he still fell asleep almost immediately.

Rick and Ardeth both awoke to the sound of the guards breaking down the camp. Rick went to get their breakfast, and when he came back he divided it between the two. Looking up at Ardeth, he cocked his eyebrow. "Last day on the road with these guys. Ready for it?"

"I believe so. I am hoping that we'll have a chance to accomplish something today," Ardeth told him, hoping he had managed to impress many of the guards.

Rick grinned. "After what you did yesterday, I'm not too worried."

"We'll see if I can duplicate it. Do I still look sick enough to get away with it again?" Ardeth asked, glancing up from his food.

"Not really, but I'm not sure it would matter. I saw the looks on their faces. They like you a whole lot better than Alack-nah." Rick grimaced. "We might have to steer clear of him though. One more thing might just send him off what little deep end he has left."

"Very true. Well, then, you go wait by our ally, and I will wait with the man I prevented Alack-nah from killing. Hopefully, he will feel obligated enough to let me ride with him."

Rick nodded. "Be careful." He finished eating his food quickly and tossed the canteen to Ardeth before leaving the tent. The guard at the door tied his hands, and he moved off to stand by their ally.

Ardeth drank the rest of the water and stood, shaking the sand off of his robes. He went to the guard, regally offering his hands to be tied. The man was almost hesitant to touch him.

After a reassuring nod from the prince, he carefully tied his hands. From where he stood, Rick was chuckling quietly, garnering another elbow from the elder Med-jai. The boy briefly looked up at him, annoyed. You know, you can cut that out any time now, he thought but didn’t dare say aloud. The man stared right back. In grudging acquiescence, Rick rolled his eyes before returning his gaze to the ground.

Ardeth made his way over to the man he had saved from Alack-nah. "May I ride with you?" he asked, hoping to avoid having to ride with the leader.

The guard looked at Ardeth uncertainly for a moment before nodding his consent.

"Thank you." Ardeth stood quietly by the man's horse, hiding his smirk when the leader came and found both of his captives all ready to go.

Alack-nah regarded them suspiciously. He knew both boys would not go down willingly or quietly. So why now were they standing ready and eager to meet their deaths? He looked at each of them in turn with his piercing gaze. They were up to something, he just knew it.

Ardeth let his eyes harden as he met Alack-nah's. He could guess what the man was thinking and subtly changed his body language. He wanted to make Alack-nah believe that he was still too sick and weak to fight back but intended to try to just the same, once they got to their destination.

Rick was watching their battle of wills and felt inwardly relieved when his friend feigned weariness. He turned to look back at Alack-nah, who seemed to visibly relax. The leader still studied the prince with wary eyes for a time before turning and mounting his horse. Rick closed his eyes. He didn’t know if this could go on for much longer. The tension between them and Alack-nah alone was exhausting.

Getting onto the horse with the guard’s help, Ardeth settled in for the ride. He intended to stay awake for this trip and to gather as much information as possible. Discreetly, he began looking around, counting the guards and gauging their battle-readiness.

Rick was eager with anticipation, ready for this whole journey to be over. So he was too excited to rest, especially since he hadn't had to run the day before. Plus, he was curious to see this place. He had been intrigued by the idea ever since he had first heard the name Hamunaptra. Since he had never explored the deserts much farther than the outskirts of Cairo, he didn't really know what to expect it to look like. All the way, he kept looking around as much as he could, trying to catch a glimpse of it.

After several hours of travel, Ardeth caught sight of the cliffs around Hamunaptra. He stiffened slightly and began looking around even more. They didn't have much time left.

Rick strained to see it better as soon as he first caught sight of the speck on the horizon. But as they drew nearer to the city, Rick's face drained of color. He pinched himself to ensure he hadn't fallen asleep on the trip and slipped into one of his nightmares again. The pain he had caused himself did nothing to change the lay of the land, and he started thrashing about in the saddle as much as he could.

The Med-jai he rode with had to struggle to keep Rick from pulling them both off of the saddle and into the dunes. "What are you doing??" the man hissed over his shoulder.

"We can't go there!" Rick was shouting urgently, not caring who heard him. The panic that went through his body gave him a strength greater than any he had ever possessed, and in a moment, both he and the Med-jai were on the ground.

Snapping his head around at Rick's shout, Ardeth sighed. His suspicion about Rick's nightmare was correct. "Get your horse over to him, quickly," he ordered the guard, putting the barest hint of authority in his voice. He needed to get Rick calmed down quickly.

The guard turned his horse back towards them, as did the rest of the company when they realized they had been reduced in numbers. Rick was still thrashing and yelling as the other horses around them came to a stop. The disguised Med-jai was trying to quiet him, but to no avail.

When they got close enough, Ardeth took a few seconds to slip out of the ropes binding his hands around the guard's waist and grabbed Rick's shoulder firmly. "Rick! Stop this at once. What you saw is not going to happen now. I promise."

Rick locked eyes with Ardeth. His shouting stopped, but his breathing did not slow. The look of fear in his eyes only mingled with confusion. "You knew?" he finally got out.

"No, I did not know, but I guessed. I swear that I will not allow what you dreamed to happen if it is in my power to do so," Ardeth told Rick, meeting his friend's eyes firmly.

Rick held his gaze for a long time before nodding. He was still afraid, but he trusted Ardeth, and that trust had won out.

Satisfied that Rick was calmer, Ardeth finally sat back and looked around. He winced inwardly as he realized almost everyone was staring at them.

Including Alack-nah. He edged his horse forward a few steps when he finally had the prince's attention. "What was that?" he asked, demanding an explanation of the situation. Rick was too busy looking down at the sand, trying to catch his breath to notice.

"That," Ardeth said, voice icy, "was a reaction to the pure evil in that city, the evil you seek to awaken!"

But at this, Alack-nah smiled as if in triumph. "Power," he corrected the boy. "Pure, unlimited power. And he should be shaken, for you will both get a taste of the full force of this power before sunrise tomorrow." He relished seeing the American in such a pitiful state, and before long, he knew that Ardeth Bey would join him there. "Now," he spoke pleasantly, "shall we continue?"

Ardeth's eyes narrowed, and he switched to Ancient Egyptian. "This will not happen." He stated, his words a promise made more binding by the language he used and the authority he had as prince of the Med-jai.

Alack-nah’s face darkened at this challenge. He dismounted and walked over to Ardeth, drawing his scimitar. Rick stood, still shaking slightly from the rush, and stepped in between them, worried that, at that moment, the leader had forgotten how much he had to lose if Bey died.

Ardeth stopped Rick with a raised hand. "No, my friend. If Alack-nah wishes to kill me here, in sight of Hamunaptra, then my blood will be on his head, and the binding words I have spoken will activate."

Alack-nah stopped and leaned in to the prince's face. "Oh no, Med-jai, there would be no satisfaction in killing you this soon." He pressed the cold steel to Ardeth's face, letting the blade lightly trace over the tattoos across his brow and cheeks. Rick tensed but couldn't do anything, afraid that if he touched the leader with his sword in his friend's face, Ardeth might be injured or killed.

The boy showed no sign of discomfort at the metal touching his face. He kept his eyes steady on Alack-nah's and pulled his authority and dignity around himself like a cloak.

Even though he didn't let it show, Alack-nah was disappointed. He had hoped for some sort of reaction from the boy. Oh, well, he told himself. It won't be long, and then he will be at my mercy. His smile widened. "By sunrise, you will break. Lord Imhotep will rise, and then all your Med-jai vows will be in vain."

"I will not allow this to happen." Ardeth stated again, not seeming to even notice when the sword was removed from his face. The guard he had been riding with grabbed his shoulder to lead him away so they could get started again.

The Med-jai riding with Rick grabbed him firmly, half afraid that, with the distance between him and Ardeth, he might start to panic again. And though the acids in the boy's stomach were starting to roil, he did as he was directed. As they got back on the horse, the man gave him a look that warned him not to do anything like that again. Rick only cast his eyes back to Hamunaptra. Even from here, he could hear the voice. "Can't you hear that?" he asked the man.

The Med-jai dipped his head slightly. "Yes. All of the prince's people hear that voice. That is what is defended against," the man whispered quietly, his voice just barely audible over the sound of hoofs in the sand.

Then why can I hear it? Rick wondered. He would have to ask Ardeth when this was over. As they closed in on the ruins, Rick sensed with foreboding the ominous presence of the ancient city wash over him like the flood waters of the Nile. He hoped his friend was right, because he doubted very much that they'd live to see the light of the next day or, if they did, would wish that they hadn't.

Just about noon, they arrived at their destination. The temple guard camp was carefully hidden from Med-jai patrols and alarmingly close to Hamunaptra.

Alack-nah personally escorted the boys to their tent and handed them their rations. "Enjoy your last meal," he taunted before leaving the tent. Rick growled angrily at him. Despite Ardeth's assurances, he was still fairly agitated to be so close to the City of the Dead, especially since, now that they were closer, the voice he heard came more often. He turned to Ardeth. "Now what do we do?"

"I don't know. I am hoping that the majority of them will try to go to Hamunaptra, and we can take that opportunity to make our way to my people," Ardeth told Rick, settling down on one of the rugs. "We may have a few allies—I think I managed to impress some of the guards on our journey."

Rick nodded, silent for a moment. "So let me get this straight, you stay here on a long-term basis?" he asked, incredulous.

Ardeth laughed. "Not precisely. There are twelve tribes of the Med-jai. Each month, a different tribe's warriors take over the watch of this place. We rotate often, so that no one becomes too worn down from the evil here."

"Still," Rick muttered, shaking his head. "So you hear that?" he asked, referring to the voice.

"You can hear the Creature's voice?" Ardeth asked, brow furrowing in concern. "That is unusual. But, I suppose, not unexpected, after your dreams."

"That's another thing," Rick said, a little frustrated. "You heard me describe this place to you, and you didn't think I might be a little alarmed to see it looming in the distance?" He wasn't so much frustrated with Ardeth as he was horrified that this place was real and only a short ways away, and this showed in Rick's eyes.

"I am sorry, my friend. I was hoping that I was wrong. Being near this place . . . even in dreams . . . is a burden I had hoped you would not have to bear," Ardeth told him quietly, dropping his head and letting his hair fall forward to obscure his eyes.

Rick sighed when he saw Ardeth's head dip. He has enough problems dealing with the guards, recovering from his injuries, and protecting me without my giving him a hard time. Rick moved closer and placed his hand on Ardeth's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It just feels different in this place even than in my dreams. I feel like I'm going to crawl out of my skin. I'm not angry at you. I guess I'm just nervous."

Glancing up through his hair, the younger boy managed a slight smile. "I understand, my friend. This hasn't been the most relaxing journey." Ardeth gently put his own hand on the one Rick had on his shoulder.

"Heh, for either of us. You know the sad thing? When I heard you talking about this place, I was actually curious to see what it was like? Man, grade-A stupid." He shook his head, then looked at Ardeth. "So what is the voice saying? I can hear it but I don't know the language."

Ardeth listened for a moment, cocking his head to one side. "Death is only the beginning . . . I will be back," he translated. "The language is Ancient Egyptian."

"Wow, even without the translation the message gets across," Rick commented ruefully, remembering his description of the dream earlier. "You're braver than I am, I could hardly stay in this place overnight let alone for two months. So I'm guessing this 'Imhotep' Alack-nah was referring to is the 'Creature'?"

Ardeth shivered when Rick said Imhotep's name. "Yes. But please, I would rather not talk about the Creature. We ought to eat—they will probably be coming for us soon, and we'll need our strength for any opportunities that arise."

Rick agreed, not wanting to distress his friend any more with the situation they were already facing. As he tore into his bread, he growled, "'Last meal.' I'll show him. I don't know how, but somehow, I'll show him."

"I intend to enjoy many more meals in my lifetime, which will last much longer than his. And hopefully, they will include other food—I am getting rather tired of bread and jerky."

Rick chuckled. "Yeah, it does get old after a week straight, and especially after Dr. Bey's cooking." He groaned longingly. "Do you think he'd be willing to adopt?"

At that, Ardeth actually laughed. "I don't know. You can always ask him when we catch up with him again, though."

"I think I might. But then, that would mean spending a lot more time at the museum." He grimaced a second, but then tilted his head. "But then again, I think in comparison to here, the museum is looking a whole lot better."

"Yes, nothing like a bit of mortal danger to help you appreciate the simple, normal things in life." Ardeth finished his food and drank his share of the water, handing the canteen over to Rick. "I miss my father and my home. I even miss all of my lessons."

“You miss your lessons?” Rick chuckled. But of course, he had to agree with Ardeth there. Even he missed his lessons. Even the history lessons, he had to admit to himself. "What lessons do you miss most?" Rick asked before taking a few gulps from the canteen.

The younger boy shrugged. "I love working with horses and swordsmanship, but I also miss the schooling. Since I am the heir, I have a lot of things that I must know." Ardeth's smile was wry.

"Does your dad teach you?"

"Yes, he'll often take over a lesson or an entire day. But I do have specific teachers for many things. Although, most of the warriors of the tribe are determined to help me with using the scimitar correctly."

At this, Rick smiled. "Wait, you say my form is terrible, and now you tell me that you don't even know how to hold a scimitar correctly?" he challenged.

The younger boy shook his head. "Oh, holding it correctly isn't a problem—it's doing it correctly while on horseback at a full gallop against someone with ranged weapons where it gets challenging."

Rick winced at the thought. "Yeah, I can imagine," he replied, shaking his head ruefully. "So who helps you with your studies when you're here? I take it your father can't come with you while you're guarding this place."

"Father came with my on my first rotation here, but my second, I went with a different tribe. I will spend one month with the warriors of each of the twelve tribes, guarding here, and then the tribes will pick which one I stay with on a permanent basis. Father's second-in-command, Kasim, accompanies me any time he cannot, and he is my primary teacher for most things."

"And you think he's in Hamunaptra now?"

"My father, or his second-in-command?" Ardeth asked, laying back on his rug, then grimacing and shifting some of his hidden treasures to a more comfortable spot. "Oh, before I forget. It's not much, but it will help." He held out the penknife he had gotten to Rick.

"Thanks," Rick said as he examined it a while. He liked the way the smooth handle fit into his palm, almost as if it had been tailor-made to fit his hands. He practiced opening it once or twice like he had seen a guy in Cairo do. The movements of the handle and blades were very fluid, but he hid it in his boot quickly. He didn't want the sound of the knife flicking through the air to have any possibility of drawing attention to them. "I meant the second-in-command. If he is in the ruins somewhere, maybe he could help hide us once we escape. He has to know the tunnels underneath the city better then these guards do." Though he didn't like the idea of staying in the tunnels any better than the hideaway in Dr. Bey's office.

"If he is here, then he would most likely be on patrol with some of the tribe or resting in the camp. The tribe here has probably been informed that I've been kidnapped. At least, I hope so."

“And hopefully, Dr. Bey won’t be far behind.” Rick finished his food and water. “How are you doing?” he asked, gesturing at Ardeth’s injuries.

Ardeth untied the bandana from around his neck and gently brushed a finger over the rope burn. “It feels much better. Not getting dragged around certainly helped. How is your neck and leg?”

"Doing better. Leg's still a bit sore, but I imagine that's gonna last a while. It'll hold up fine though." His head spun towards the entrance as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

Ardeth rose to his feet, smoothing his robes and straightening his posture. With just a tilt of his head, he went from being a normal boy to a Med-jai prince.

Rick stood next to his friend. "Well, here we go," he murmured as the door to the tent was thrown open.


	15. Deceipt

Ardeth's eyes widened as he saw, just behind Alack-nah, a tall man with Med-jai markings on his cheeks. "Kasim? What are you doing here? Were you captured also?" the boy asked, barely remembering to keep speaking in English instead of Arabic.

But Kasim smiled, an evil glint in his eyes. Rick froze and looked at Ardeth. He had seen that look before and would have done anything to keep his friend from experiencing it. The man shook his head in amazement. "It took longer than either Alack-nah or myself anticipated to capture you. I had been convinced that Cairo would have been the best place, since you would be so out of your element. You proved more elusive than we suspected."

"You, Kasim? You were the traitor?" Ardeth asked quietly, looking utterly devastated. "Why? You were Father's second! Why betray our people and our duty like this?"

"Our ancestors were fools to ever have even performed that curse on the Creature. They must have known that eventually someone would raise him. It is only a matter of time. I do not intend to spend my life living in fear of this city yet forced to defend its borders. Those who join him will be granted power, and then we will not be forced to fight this unending battle. There is no victory in the service of this cause, only casualties. You would do well to join us before Lord Imhotep returns. Mind you, child, you do not have long."

Face pale, Ardeth pulled himself up straighter. "You would raise the Creature, even knowing what it will do to the world? Kasim, you are no Med-jai." With that statement, Ardeth lunged forward and snatched the traitor's scimitar from his belt. The scimitar was a beautiful weapon, passed down for generations to Kasim. With one quick movement, aided by the power of royalty, Ardeth snapped the blade off of the hilt and tossed the shards at Kasim's feet.

At this, Kasim back-handed Ardeth and sent him to the ground. Alack-nah, too, was on him in a second, blade held at the boy's throat.

Ardeth lay still on the sand, blazing eyes fixed on Kasim. He wasn't even aware of his lip bleeding from Kasim's blow or the naked blade at his throat. "Your name will be struck from our records, traitor, and your family name disgraced!"

Kneeling before Ardeth, Kasim sneered in his face. "How do you expect to accomplish that if you don't survive to tell anyone?"

Rick was doing his best to move behind Kasim, pulling the knife from his boot and picking up the hilt from the ground, while the attention was on Ardeth.

Narrowing his eyes, the boy met Kasim's glare without any fear. "As prince of the Med-jai, twice proven worthy of my rank, once by blood-right, once by trial, I declare Kasim, one-time Med-jai commander, a traitor, no longer of our tribe. He has forsaken our sacred duty. May God have mercy on his soul, for I will have none." As Ardeth spoke the ritual words, a wave of power swept through him and struck Kasim. When the power dissipated, all of Kasim's tribal markings were gone.

The shockwave knocked Kasim to the ground. At that moment, Rick’s knife flew through the air, catching Alack-nah across his shoulders, cutting deeply into his muscles. The red guard dropped his sword and his grasp on Ardeth. Not waiting to see if he was still strong enough to fight them, Rick pummeled him over the head with the hilt of Kasim's scimitar.

Ardeth scrambled to his feet, shaking. "We need to get out of here," he said, wrapping his arms around himself, trying to ward off the shock from the unexpected news and the energy use.

Rick and Ardeth ran from the tent and quickly ducked behind one of the piles of equipment. Rick tossed a quick glance over the top, trying to quickly gauge the distance between the camp and the entrance to Hamunaptra. "Do you think we can make that?" he whispered urgently as he dug his hand around blindly in the equipment for anything they could use. He quickly came up with a couple of guns and handed one to Ardeth.

Glad for something to focus on, the younger boy snapped open the chamber and was pleased to find it was already loaded. He slid the safety on and jammed it into his belt. "I think we have to. Is there anything explosive in there we can use as a distraction?"

Rick dug around again, quickly coming up with a bundle of TNT. Further search revealed a small match book. He handed them off to Ardeth as he continued to search for more items. He pulled out a couple of bandoleers, donning one and handing the other to Bey. Leaning back for a moment, he gave the gun in his hand a cursory glance trying to quickly assess how to use it. Then, he turned to look at Ardeth. "You ready?"

Ardeth shuddered slightly but nodded. "My hands aren't steady enough—light a stick of this, and toss it away from where we're going but not in their camp. It will provide a distraction."

Rick separated a stick from the bunch. Breaking off one of the matches, he lit the stick, tossed it, and ducked behind the equipment pile, pocketing the match book and shoving the rest of the TNT under his bandoleer.

Thirty seconds later, a tremendous explosion rocked the still desert air. Ardeth immediately started running for the entrance to Hamunaptra, leading the way around all of the traps and pitfalls he remembered.

Rick tried to follow as best he could, darting behind Ardeth. One step almost took him right into a trap, the thin sand-covered floor giving way beneath his weight. He just barely caught himself in time to see the open pit with numerous sharp pikes lining the floor. After this, he paid better attention to the way the prince was weaving through the sand dunes.

Finally, they made it into Hamunaptra itself. Ardeth stopped just inside one of the entrances to the underground parts of the city. He looked back the way they had come and managed a slight smile at the sight of an orange glow against the sky. "Something caught on fire. The tribe guarding the city will have definitely seen that and heard the explosion. I'm surprised we weren't stopped on our way in here. Are you alright?"

Rick looked at him, astonished. "Am I alright?"

"I forgot to warn you to follow my footsteps because of the traps. You didn't spring any of them, did you?" the boy asked anxiously, glancing his friend over in the pale light from the moon.

"Oh," Rick laughed nervously. "Yes and no. Fortunately, I caught my balance before I accidentally impaled myself. I had wondered why you were running so erratically when they weren't shooting at us yet. After that, I tried to keep up a little more carefully. It's a nice place you have here." He shook his head as he tried to catch his breath.

"Yes—and that was just the outside. Please, my friend, don't touch anything in here unless I do," Ardeth told him seriously, glancing at the dark tunnel behind them.

Rick shook his head vigorously, a wry smile on his face. "Don't worry, that's not going to be a problem." Then, he turned to Ardeth seriously placing a hand on each of his shoulders, forcing him to meet his gaze. "What about you? Are you alright?"

Ardeth shuddered and dropped his eyes. "I have to be," he murmured, voice bleak. "It's so difficult to believe—Kasim was Father's second in command, he's the one who taught me how to read. Now, he is no longer a Med-jai."

O'Connell couldn't imagine what Ardeth was going through. Since no one had ever been particularly close to him, he had never experienced betrayal on the level that Bey just had. He wanted to say something to give him the strength he needed to continue but he couldn't think of anything. Instead, he squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

Ardeth straightened a little and took a deep breath. "Thank you, my friend." He shook his head. "Well, at least one good thing will come from this—Father will have sensed that I exercised my right as prince, and he will be able to trace that energy back to here."

"Yeah, hopefully before our friends do," Rick said as he looked out across the desert. The red guards that weren't trying to contain the fire from the explosion were carefully picking their way across from the camp to the city. "We should probably head deeper in," he groaned despairingly. The voice, that had been only a whisper in the camp, was loud and clear now that they had crossed the threshold.

Sighing as he looked at the darkness, Ardeth nodded. "Once we get deeper in, we should be able to find a torch or something. Shall we?"

Rick sighed but nodded. "Yeah, sure, why not?"

Ardeth started into the darkness, doing his best to keep all of his defenses high. He didn't want to go anywhere near where the Creature was buried right now.

Rick followed, every sense on full alert. Gun cocked and raised, he quickly found the ammunition slot and quickly taught himself how to reload it, just in case they had cause to use more than eight rounds. And he had a feeling they would. "Hey, where are your men? Shouldn't they have stopped us by now?"

"Yes, they should have. This . . . concerns me greatly. I think, as much as I'd prefer to avoid it, we must go check the chamber where the Creature is buried," Ardeth said over his shoulder, voice shaking slightly.

Rick's blood ran cold, and he froze where he stood. "And what do we do when we get there, assuming the worst?" Which is a pretty safe bet right now, he thought, his heart hammering in his chest.

"I know that the Creature hasn't been awoken yet—if he had, we wouldn't still be hearing his voice. I am afraid, though, that the tribe supposed to be guarding Hamunaptra might have already been overcome."

Rick cursed inwardly. Kasim! I should have tossed that TNT on the tent! He found himself relieved that he had kept the rest of the bundle. He had a feeling they might need it soon. He kept close to Ardeth's back as the prince led the way through the maze of corridors and antechambers beneath the city.

Finally, Ardeth stopped. "Just into this room is where the Creature is buried," the boy whispered, glancing at Rick. Moonlight filtered through a crack in the stone roof above their heads, its silvery beams illuminating the boys’ faces in the dark passageway.

O’Connell checked to make sure the ammunition in the gun was secure and cocked the hammer. He strained to listen, but it was hard to tell whether or not there was any chanting in the next room. The Creature's voice was loud with their proximity to its resting place. "I can't tell, do you think anyone's in there?" he whispered back.

"I don't know." Ardeth pulled out his scimitar, more comfortable with the blade in his hand than the gun. He slipped into the room.

Rick followed. Stopping just inside the doorway, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. There were a couple of torches, but some unnatural force in the room seemed to contain the light from spilling out to dispel the darkness. He listened carefully and searched the shadows with his eyes, but as far as he could discern the room was empty. On the other side of the room was a hulking mass that the shadows obscured. Rick cautiously edged around the room to try and get a closer look, careful to stay out of what little torchlight there was. As Rick got close enough, he realized it was a statue, one depicting Anubis, if he remembered correctly from his parents’ descriptions.

Ardeth nearly fell to his knees, pressing his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to block out the Creature's voice. It pounded through his mind, almost overwhelming him, trying to get him to free it.

Rick’s head spun around at the sound. Seeing Ardeth on the ground, he rushed to his side and knelt beside him, afraid he had been injured. Seeing his hands over his ears, he tried to talk him through this. "Ardeth, come on, buddy," Rick said, lifting his friend's chin forcing him to see his face. "Come on, stay with me. You can do this. I'm here with you. We're going to see this through! No matter what!"

Gathering up all of his strength, Ardeth dropped his hands and turned slightly to glare at where the Creature was buried. "You will be silent!" he ordered, putting the power he bore as a Med-jai behind the command.

The whole room fell silent. Rick waited for something to happen, knowing the other shoe would have to drop sometime. But there was nothing. "Well, that worked," he commented, impressed. Then, he helped Ardeth to stand, looking over at the spot his eyes had focused on when he had issued the command. "I wonder if it's possible to raise the creep if we incinerate his remains?" he wondered out loud as he pulled the dynamite from his bandoleer and hefted it, trying to judge how much damage it would do.

Ardeth laid a shaking hand on Rick's arm. "No, my friend, that will do nothing other than attract attention here. We have a little time now, and we must take advantage of it."

"Okay," Rick said, replacing the TNT and hefting his gun again. "What should we do?"

"There is a back exit to these tunnels. It opens out near where the tribes camp while on duty. I think we ought to go and see if the tribe is here and in any condition to fight the guards."

Rick nodded and began to follow Ardeth when a voice that emanated from behind them made both whirl around. "It is too late for that, Your Majesty." Kasim and Alack-nah materialized from the shadows near the entrance.

Rick shook his head in disgust. "You two just don't know how to take a hint, do you?" he growled, not lowering his gun from his bead on the two.

Ardeth tightened his grip on his scimitar, glaring at the men. "What have you done, traitor?" he demanded, warily extending his senses as best as he could with the evil atmosphere dragging him down.

"I have prepared the city for Lord Imhotep's arrival. You have no allies here, no one to hide behind, no one to run to for aid."

"We've managed so far," Rick snapped at him, pointedly moving his gun to aim for his heart.

Ardeth's smile was dark. "You may have thought you prepared, but I doubt even you know all of the secrets of Hamunaptra. Many are the duty of the royal family to bear."

Kasim's mouth quirked slightly. "Of course it is. Why else do you think we brought you?"

"You didn't think I'd actually told you the whole truth about why we brought you here, did you?" Alack-nah's tone was arrogant as he shook his head at the boy's foolishness.

Ardeth's lips tightened, and he glared at both men. "You expect me to reveal these secrets to you?" he asked instead, trying to think of some plan that would prevent Rick or himself from dying.

"Not willingly at first." Kasim sighed with some measure of regret. "Imhotep would have great use for a man of your skills. You have such potential, it'd be a shame to waste it. Don't throw your life away fighting a battle you can't win."

Glancing at Rick out of the corner of his eye, Ardeth made sure there was no one else sneaking up on them. "This battle I will not loose. I will not allow you to raise the Creature."

Kasim looked at the prince in disappointment, though he could not say he was surprised. "I thought you would feel this way. You have too much of your father in you, fighting until the end, even if it costs you everything. I suppose we will have to do this the hard way now."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Ardeth demanded, shifting his grip on his scimitar. He didn't like his chances in a fight against Kasim. The man was older, stronger, and knew all of Ardeth's weaknesses in sword fighting since he had taught the boy a great deal.

Kasim smiled, shaking his head. "All your life I've taught you to think for yourself. You have an imagination; use it. The worst torments you can imagine will pale in comparison before we are through with you."

Rick moved to step in front of Ardeth to protect him. "You'll have to go through me first!" he challenged, pointing the gun at Kasim's head.

Both boys were so focused on Kasim, that Alack-nah was able to slip into the shadows and work his way closer to them. Ardeth heard a scuff of a foot on sand behind him and whirled to find Alack-nah lunging for him. The boy brought his scimitar up, but it was batted aside, and he landed hard on the ground, wind knocked out of him by the man's heavy weight.

Rick spun, trying to aim for whatever was behind them. Kasim came up behind Rick and slashed his scimitar at Rick's arm. The gun clattered to the floor. Rick quickly tried to fish his knife out of his boot with his good arm, but Ardeth's mentor kicked his knees out from under him, sending him sprawling to the floor. A boot came down hard on his chest, pinning him to the ground, and Kasim's blade pressed into his throat.

Gasping for air, Ardeth twisted out from under Alack-nah, hitting the man as hard as he could, and lunged for Kasim.

Knowing Ardeth's fighting style, Kasim sidestepped his attack without removing the blade from Rick's throat. Suddenly, a bullet sang through the air. Alack-nah had recovered Rick's gun.

Shaking as the bullet knocked his scimitar out of his hand, Ardeth's fists clenched as he glared at Kasim and Alack-nah. "Rick?" he asked softly, not daring to look away from the adults in case they attacked him.

"Still here," he grunted around the tip of the sword digging into his flesh, trying hard not to move.

"He won't be for long, unless you stand down," Kasim said darkly, holding his gaze with the prince.

"Don't do it, buddy," Rick commanded.

Ardeth's eyes were hooded as he considered his options. He couldn't attack Kasim, or Rick would be dead before he got within five paces of them. Alack-nah now had a loaded gun, and it would be foolish to attack him. The boy's scimitar was in the sand several feet away. Then, feeling a cold draft of air behind him, Ardeth realized his back was to one of the passages out of the room. He locked eyes with Rick, hoping his friend would understand and forgive him for this. "Live today, fight tomorrow," he murmured and launched himself into a backward roll, snatching up his sword as he hurried deeper into the catacombs.


	16. Darkness Before the Dawn

Rick smiled for a second before harsh hands grabbed him up off the ground and battered him against the base of the statue of Anubis. He grunted in pain from the blow. Alack-nah was an inch from his face.

"He has only delayed the inevitable. He will suffer your fate soon enough." The red guard smiled. "But until he does, I shall truly enjoy killing you."

"I'm sure you would after all the times you've failed," Rick said, goading him.

There was a clatter from the passage, and several guards came rushing in, looking distinctly ruffled. "There's something out there!" one of them yelled, looking fearfully back the way they had come.

Unwilling to let him out of his sight, Alack-nah dragged Rick with him as he followed Kasim closer to the door to see what had frightened his men.

Just outside of the chamber, a secret passage had been opened, and so it remained. There was faint shimmering in front of it, signaling to the wary that there was a booby trap there.

Alack-nah moved to check it out, but Kasim stopped him. "You fool!" he snapped at the leader. "The boy has escaped and has probably activated the ancient defenses. You can't just blindly walk into a room!"

"What is this defense, then, old man?" the leader asked, bristling.

"Only Ardeth Bey or his father would know for certain. But there are certain boundaries that only Med-jai can cross. And that spell no longer protects me and never protected you."

"Suppose it is the boy trying to make a run for the surface?"

"Even so, we cannot follow him without being sure."

"Tough break," Rick chuckled with satisfaction.

The small group was gathered in the corridor, and all jumped when there was a rumble from just behind them. Several of the guards yelled and scrambled away. The door to the chamber where Imhotep was buried was closing, heavy stone grinding into place.

"No!" Kasim growled. He turned quickly to Alack-nah. "Take the American and stay in the chamber. I will take the men and find the prince."

"And what of this one?" the leader gestured at Rick.

"He's all yours Alack-nah. Do with him what you will, and perhaps his screams will draw Ardeth from where ever he is hiding."

"Not gonna happen!" Rick promised him. He was not about to let them use him to get to Ardeth. But Alack-nah grinned as he shoved Rick before him into the chamber of Anubis before the stone door slid shut.

Ardeth found his way to an empty chamber and sank to the floor in the center of the room, shaking slightly. He felt horrible for having left Rick, but he needed to activate the defenses. Closing his eyes, the boy slipped into meditation and called on the ancient power of his bloodline to prevent the creature from being raised.

Kasim and his men were combing the corridors. The former Med-jai shook his head. The boy would pay for this impudence. A couple of passages away, he heard a cry of distress as one of his personal guard fell prey to another booby trap and another on the other side, just barely avoiding one that had just been placed. Locking a snarl behind his teeth, he kept on alert, lest he fall victim to the protective rites.

Finally done activating as many of the protections as he could, Ardeth nearly collapsed as he came out of meditation. He wasn't used to having to use the more magical energy of the Med-jai and technically wasn't supposed to at all until he was done growing, but events recently hadn't allowed him that luxury. With a sigh, the boy stood and decided to make his way back to the Chamber of Anubis. Hopefully, Rick would still be there, and there would be some way to rescue his friend.

Alack-nah threw Rick to the ground as soon as they entered the room. Rick was on his feet quickly but just in time to meet the blur that was Alack-nah's fist coming at his face. Stunned, he stumbled backward, tripping over a rock. Alack-nah grabbed the boy's cut arm and let his fingers dig into the wound. Rick groaned but kept his mouth shut as he tried to use his other arm to pry his hand loose.

"You're going to die this night, brat, but not until I've had my fill of your blood," Alack-nah promised, kneeling next to the boy and grinning down at him.

Rick tried to reach around and punch the gouge he had left in the leader's shoulder back at the tent, but he couldn’t angle his arm right, and his fist fell weakly. Alack-nah pointed his gun at Rick's shoulder and pulled the trigger. Rick could not hold back the anguished cry from leaving his mouth as the point-blank shot tore through his muscles, but he quickly tried to reign the pain back in. Finally when he could catch his breath again, he chuckled pathetically. "Even if you do kill me tonight, Ardeth's not going to let you bring Imhotep back."

Alack-nah smirked a little. "It will break the little Med-jai princeling to see your body, completely destroyed. I am going to enjoy taking you apart, filthy little street brat!"

Rick's eyes blazed. He stared flailing, trying with renewed fervor to get free. But Alack-nah dug both hands into Rick's fresh injuries. The pain seared through his body, a blinding fire that sent spots dancing across his vision. He had to fight just to stay conscious. He kicked out at the leader trying to catch him by surprise.

There was a whisper of movement, cloth against sand, and Ardeth appeared, tackling Alack-nah. "The only body that will be found will be yours!" the boy hissed, desperate to get the man away from his friend.

Alack-nah rose to his feet and grabbing his scimitar from the floor. He circled Ardeth closely. “Once Kasim returns, you will watch as I carve your friend up. Imhotep will have more remains than the American will by the time I am through with him,” he taunted, “and then you will be next.”

“Words are meaningless. You’ll have to prove to me what you say—and I swear by my name that I will not allow you to harm my friend again!” Ardeth hissed, sliding easily into a crouch and also circling. He used the movement to draw the temple guard away from where Rick was sprawled on the sand.

Alack-nah's face seemed lit by some evil pleasure that seemed even more ominous in the dim torchlight. He waited for his moment, then lunged at the prince.

Ardeth easily sidestepped and twisted his scimitar so that the blade cut against the guard's arm as he went by. Turning quickly, the boy kept his eyes focused on Alack-nah. This time, he couldn't afford to lose, or Rick would pay the price.

Alack-nah turned, snarling at the boy. He came down on Ardeth with a vicious flurry of attacks. He was determined to sin this time. No street brat or Med-jai whelp is going to get the best of me, he thought. He tried to push the prince back to where he would trip over Rick's prone body.

Instead, Ardeth met Alack-nah's attacks with some of his own, putting all his skill and strength into the fight. The boy was already exhausted from everything, but he had more strength than Alack-nah could possibly guess.

Alack-nah found himself being pushed back. Enraged, the thought of losing to this boy a third time made his blood begin to boil. But Ardeth seemed to have this never ending reserve of energy. Even though he could tell the prince was weary, his strokes were just as strong, his concentration just as steady, as it had been the first day they had fought in the alley.

Finally, with a vicious scowl, Ardeth got inside the man's guard. The boy didn't hesitate over the killing blow. "And so my oath is fulfilled—you will never raise the Creature, or hurt Rick O'Connell again."

The corpse of Alack-nah fell to the ground.

Trembling, Ardeth barely managed to keep hold of his scimitar as he turned and stumbled over to Rick. Falling to his knees, the boy bit his lip as he saw the extent of the older boy's injuries. "Rick?" he asked softly, wondering if his friend was still conscious.

By this time, Rick wasn't moving, taking advantage of the reprieve to conserve as much energy as he could and to try and tamp down the pain that pulsed through his body. But at the sound Ardeth's voice, he turned his head. "Hey, how's it going?" he murmured.

Ardeth sighed in relief at Rick's voice. "Alack-nah is dead, my friend. Just lie still—I'll do what I can for your injuries.”

Rick sighed in relief, then chuckled at Ardeth's command to stay still. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

The prince took off his robe and slid off his shirt completely. Quickly tearing it up, he bandaged Rick's wounds, almost biting through his lip in anger when he saw the gunshot wound.

Rick took a moment to catch his breath while Ardeth tended his injuries. "We can't stay here long. It won't take much time before they come back looking for you."

"I know. I sealed off the front entrance to this room, but I left the back entrance open so that I could get back in. I don't know how long it will take them to find it," Ardeth told him, packing the bullet wound with healing herbs from the tin before wrapping it. Thankfully, the bullet had gone all the way through.

"Knowing our luck, not long," Rick groaned as he tried sit up. "Hand me that gun, will you, buddy. I don't think I'll have the strength to hold a sword."

Ardeth retrieved the gun from the sand and quickly cleaned out the grit so that it would work. He placed it in Rick's hand and helped the other boy sit up. Pulling the stolen canteen off of his belt, Ardeth opened it and put it to Rick's lips.

Rick drank some gladly. He had expended almost all of his energy in the struggle against the leader, and the cool water rushing down his throat helped to bring his overloaded senses back into focus.

Once Rick was done drinking, Ardeth recapped the canteen and put it back on his belt. Shivering in the cool air of the underground chamber, the boy put his robe back on and turned to Rick. "Do you think you can walk?"

"Yeah,” Rick said nodding. Without thinking, he put his hands down on the ground to push himself up, but pain from that movement alone knocked the wind out of him. With his left shoulder and right arm injured, he could not stand very well on his own. But he was glad the pain had told him thus before he had put any of his weight on those damaged muscles.

Ardeth steadied him before he could hurt himself more by falling. The younger boy bit his lip and sighed softly. "I'm going to have to pull you to your feet—this will hurt, my friend."

Rick only nodded, grimacing. He knew, but it would hurt a whole lot less than what both of them would feel if they were head off by Kasim and his men. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then looked at Ardeth, showing that he was ready.

Ardeth made certain Rick wasn’t going to fall over, then scrambled to his feet. Hesitating, Ardeth tried to figure out what the best way was to get his friend up without causing a lot more damage to his injuries.

Rick shifted his weight forward to put most of it balanced over his good leg. He then scowled as he raised his right hand out towards Ardeth.

Carefully, Ardeth grasped Rick's wrist and pulled the other boy to his feet, catching and steadying him when he staggered. "Are you alright, my friend?"

Rick let his breath out in a hiss as he clutched his arm, his hand shielding the injury, futilely trying to block out the pain. "I'll live." He cast about for a second. "Let's get out of here."

"We'll go to the Med-jai camp—everyone there may be dead, but there should still be some supplies that we can use. Right now, there is nothing further you or I can do in here. With all the defenses I've raised, no one will be able to get to the Creature to raise it."

Rick followed as Ardeth led the way out of the Chamber of Anubis and through the labyrinth of tunnels out to the Med-jai camp.

Ardeth paused just before they left the tunnels. "How are you holding up, my friend?" he whispered, turning to examine Rick in the clean light of the moon.

"I'm okay, though I maybe a little cranky the next few days. How about you?" This was essentially true, though Rick had to admit to himself he couldn’t at the moment think of a time when he had hurt as much as he did right now. But with the rush of adrenaline wearing off he was only just now starting to feel how spent he was. But he pushed his weariness aside. They weren’t out of danger yet, so he would think about it later.

"I will be better once the traitor is dead, and my father is here," the younger boy admitted with a sigh, then turned to scan the area they had to go. "There is nowhere to hide from here to where the campsite is, and I don't know how many scouts they have out."

"And Kasim might be waiting for us in the camp,” Rick was willing to hazard a guess. He scanned the shadows as best he could, he just couldn't be sure. He stepped out, his gun raised. He was hoping that if the red guards were waiting to ambush him someone might see him, mistake him for Ardeth in the darkness, and give away their location.

Ardeth wrapped an arm around Rick's chest, pulling him back into the shadows, careful not to jar his wounds. "What are you doing?" the boy demanded, glancing around for any movement and seeing none.

"Trying to draw their attention. We're going to have to cross over to the camp sooner or later. If they see the movement, they might think it's you. If they are laying in wait for us, this might trick them into accidentally revealing where they’re hiding.”

Ardeth sighed softly. "That was well thought, my friend, but very dangerous. Kasim has likely ordered them to shoot by now. Wait—I hear something." Shoving Rick against the wall, Ardeth pushed himself as far into the shadows as possible also. He glanced around carefully, not daring to move too much, but needing to know what he'd heard.

"How could they have escaped?" Kasim was raging as he walked with a red guard. Rick and Ardeth were deep enough into the shadows that neither of the men saw them. As they passed, the boys heard and recognized the voice of the disguised Med-jai.

"I do not know, my lord. Those two have been a handful since we first tracked them through Cairo. I have never spoken ill of a superior before, but it was my belief that Alack-nah was unfit for command, letting his ego get in the way of the true mission. The two will be long gone by now." Rick noticed that the Med-Jai stiffened almost imperceptibly as he had walked by their hiding spot, the way he had when he had realized Rick was awake on the first day of traveling. But he did not say anything, did not turn around, nor say anything to draw attention to them.

Once Kasim and their ally stepped out of the tunnels, Ardeth sighed in relief. Then, he bit his lip. "With them out of here, I might be able to completely seal this place off and deal with any other guards still in here. Of course, that would leave us trapped."

"With the mummy to keep us company," Rick shook his head. "Looks like our safest bet for now. Will your dad or Dr. Bey be able to get in when they get here? And is there some sort of supplies chamber we can last on until it's safe to come out again?"

"Yes—I've been mainly using a specific trap that will kill anyone who walks through it unless they are a Med-jai." Ardeth smiled briefly at Rick. "Congratulations, my friend—you have the true spirit of a Med-jai."

Rick looked after at Ardeth as he headed back into the catacombs, confused. "Wait, what?" he called as he moved to catch up.

Ardeth glanced over his shoulder at Rick, grinning. "One of the protections that I have up is a shield of sorts over many of the doors. It is designed to allow only true Med-jai to pass through it unscathed."

"And I've passed through one of these doors?" Rick quickly ran his hands across his chest to make sure the number of injuries he had a while back had not grown in number. He figured after all he had been through he might not notice a couple more. Though, he instantly wished he hadn’t, wincing at the pain the sudden movement of his arms brought to his existing wounds. But seeing that, regardless, the count remained the same, he shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. How is that possible? My parents were Americans."

Ardeth turned to fully face Rick at this. "Being a Med-jai has nothing to do with blood, although most are part of the tribes because of their families. It is about a sacred duty—we are the protectors of mankind, and all over the world, you will find those who have committed to this task, without ever realizing what it means."

"Right," Rick said in disbelief, but then after thinking about it for a while, he realized stranger things had happened, and all of them, within the past few hours. Like Ardeth's ability to cast spells, or quiet Imhotep, or make the tattoo's on Kasim's face vanish. So many things had happened over the past week, and even though he had seen them, he was still having a hard time processing it. He looked Ardeth in the eyes, seeing that he was deadly serious. "So you think I'm a Med-jai?" He looked down wondering. “But then what does that mean?"

"I don't think you are a Med-jai. I know you are one." Ardeth gently rested his hand on Rick's shoulder—the one that hadn't been shot. "I first suspected it when you saved me in the market place. We were complete strangers, and you risked yourself for me. Every action you have taken since then has only proven your heart to me."

Rick nodded, but it was clear on his face that he wasn't quite sure what to make of this. He had felt this bond too, even though he couldn't explain it. But ever since he had met Ardeth, he had felt more comfortable around him than anyone he had ever known, including Father Duncan who had practically raised him. It was as close as he could imagine to having a brother.

"I'll explain more of it later, my friend. For now, let's get to one of the empty rooms. You need to rest, and I need to scout out the chambers and find out how many guards are still in here."

Rick couldn't argue with him there. He knew that he would be no help to Ardeth if he was exhausted. Plus, Ardeth could make a quicker search of the tunnels since he knew the city better. "Lead on."

Ardeth led them into a small side chamber that had a lit torch in it but no traps. Quickly slipping out of his robe, the boy spread the cloth out onto the floor. “Go ahead and lie down, my friend,” he told Rick, piling all of the items they had collected during their trip next to the cloth.

Rick did so, somewhat clumsily due to his wounds, but at that particular moment he was too tired to care how he looked. It took him a few seconds to get into a position to where the hole in his shoulder didn't scream in protest at him, but once he did, it wasn't long after that he was gone.

Ardeth checked over Rick's new injuries, doing his best not to cause his friend any more pain. Done with that, he took his scimitar and dagger, but left everything else so that he could move swiftly through the tunnels. Ardeth quickly slipped through the protection on the door to begin his search.

Ardeth moved noiselessly through the tunnels, sweeping them for any straggling enemy soldiers. He paused often to listen for the sounds of footsteps resounding in the passageways, but the evil nature of this place seemed to swallow sound as much as it swallowed light.

The boy had to be careful not to go near any of the more deadly traps he had activated, but thankfully, he knew the way quite well. Hearing footsteps ahead of him, the young Med-jai slid closer to the wall, shivering as the cold stone touched his bare back. His shirt was being used as bandages, and Rick was asleep on his robe.

The footsteps seemed to get closer for a second and then drift off into the distance as the unknown figure chose a passageway leading away from where Ardeth hid. The boy waited for a moment before separating himself from the wall cautiously. Slowly, he moved after the sound, coming quietly to the junction and waiting a moment before he peered around the corner. Suddenly from the darkness, the hilt of a sword slammed into his face.

When Ardeth woke up, he found he was in a tent, propped up against the center support. His hands were chained together around the pole, and his feet were tied together. Trying to remember what had happened, Ardeth winced at the fierce ache on the left side of his face.

"Good, you are awake," Kasim's voice spoke as he circled around from behind him. Shaking his head, he glared at the prince with narrowed eyes. "You do not go down easily."

Ardeth licked his lips, tasting blood, and guessed that he probably looked horrible. "What happened?" the boy asked, unable to remember anything after getting Rick safe and settled in one of the empty chambers.

"You made a foolish choice. You forgot the first danger of tracking—the hunter can always become the prey. You should have waited longer before turning that corner to come looking for me. I had a feeling you would be waiting at the very edge of the sacred defenses. Your foolish tendency to value life has cost you your own. However, I can assure you, Your Highness, that this is one mistake you will not be able to repeat."

Ardeth glared at Kasim. "My father will be here very soon—all Med-jai will know that the defenses of Hamunaptra have been activated and they will come as quickly as they are able."

"Even so, that will not be soon enough to save you or your friend. Even on the fastest stallions, your father will not be here for another six days at least." At this statement Ardeth's face remained impassive, but he inwardly sighed in relief. Kasim was completely unaware that reinforcements had probably been in pursuit of the boys since they were first abducted from Cairo. It would be an hour or two at most, not days. Kasim pulled a dagger from his tunic as he continued. "And each day will seem like an eternity to you. More than enough time for you to break." He leaned in close to the prince. "You've brought this upon yourself boy." With a quick motion, he thrust the dagger downward, stabbing Ardeth’s leg.

Ardeth drew in an unsteady breath and held it, not allowing any sound to escape him. His fists were clenched so tightly that his fingernails were cutting into his palm. "What do you plan to do now?" Ardeth asked, gritting his teeth against the pain. "Torture me to death? That certainly won't convince me to lower the protections."

Kasim twisted the dagger still embedded in Bey's leg. "You're leaving little choice. The pain will stop when you give me what I want. I have known you all your life, Ardeth, and I know your pain threshold. With all you've endured this past week, I am fully aware that it is not far out of reach."

Ardeth closed his eyes tightly, trying to quell the nausea from the pain. He acknowledged to himself that Kasim was right—he wouldn't be able to endure very much more, especially not with all of the energy he'd spent raising the protections. "Why, Kasim? I trusted you—you were always there to help me when Father had to leave. Why?" the boy whispered, trying to slip his hands out of the cuffs.

"I have lost everything in this war. My wife and two sons died on this battlefield. And for what? To defend a people who spit at us and revile us? From a power that cannot be quelled forever? His return is inevitable. There are only two options remaining: oppose it and be obliterated, or unleash it and be rewarded. I will not suffer one more loss to this horrendous legacy. Now lower the defenses," Kasim commanded as he viciously withdrew the dagger from Ardeth's leg.

Instinctively, Ardeth pulled his legs as close to his body as he could, nearly sobbing with pain. "I won't Kasim. You know how deeply I grieved with you when your family died, but I stand by my oaths—the rest of the world will remain innocent of the evil of the Creature," Ardeth told the man, meeting his eyes steadily.

Kasim's face darkened, his eyes cold and unrelenting. It was clear as Ardeth searched their depths that he was beyond reason and would not take “no” for an answer, even if that meant killing him. The grief he had never come to terms with had turned his heart to stone. "But you will, Ardeth. You will give me what I want."

Despite his exhaustion, Rick had slept restlessly, unable to truly relax in this place. At the same moment in time that Kasim had attacked Ardeth in the corridors, O'Connell had burst from sleep as if it had been him that was in danger. He scanned the room quickly. There was no one there standing over him, weapon drawn, no Alack-nah or other red guard to threaten his life. But the feeling remained. Something was very wrong. "Ardeth." He picked up his and Ardeth's guns that lay beside him on the ground. There was no way to tell how much time had passed, so he couldn't explain why, but he knew that Ardeth should have returned by now. Holding a pistol in both hands, he hastily rose and went off in search of his friend.

As he stepped out of the small chamber, he passed through a faintly shimmering area. A wave of cool mist passed through him, holding a vague threat, but then stopped and let him go without any problems.

“What the—” he cried out, startled by the odd sensation. He spun, aiming his gun as he looked back through the doorway trying to see what had touched him, run through him. But he could see nothing. He shook his head. He didn’t have time for this! He would figure it out later. Rick's eyes carefully scanned in the dark as best he could, searching the tunnels that he dared. The passageways were completely silent, with no sign of life at all. Then, he remembered when they had seen Kasim leaving the passages and heading out to the Med-Jai camp that Ardeth had told him of before. "Oh, no," Rick groaned as he traced his way back to the entrance. He looked out across the moonlit sands carefully. He didn't see anyone, but he knew that meant nothing. He listened hard. He couldn't hear any screams coming from the camp, but right now he was unsure if that should comfort him or concern him. He tried to think of a safe way to cross to the camp as, suddenly, his heart hammering in his chest, he felt an awareness pierce him like a blade of ice. Ardeth was in trouble. He didn't have time to come up with a plan. Swallowing hard, he cocked his guns and bolted out of the tunnel.

Surprisingly, no one tried to attack Rick. Just as he reached the edge of the city, an arm went around his waist and yanked him into the shadows. It was their Med-jai ally. "Are you well?" the man demanded, scanning the area to make certain no one had seen his action.

Rick gasped in breaths of air as he tried to calm himself. "No I'm not well! Ardeth's been captured! We have to save him!" he whispered urgently.

"I know, but the entire camp of guards is between us and the prince, and the traitor is in there with him. We don't dare do anything to further risk his life," the man told Rick, glancing at a tent in the distance with fury.

Rick followed his gaze, guessing that was where Ardeth was being held. Then, he stared at the ground in frustration, shaking his head. "We can't just leave him there! There's got to be something we can do!" He racked his brain trying to come up with something, anything. After a moment, his eyes raised to look at the Med-jai. "You've seen how he stood up for those red guards on the trip here. After a couple of days, most of them were afraid to even touch him. Some of them have got to be on his side!"

The man stared at him for a moment before nodding sharply. "I will see how many I can gather for the prince. It helps that the Med-jai will be here soon—see that cloud of dust?"

Rick looked in the direction he was pointing. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Thank goodness! The cavalry's here at last. How long do you think? He's suffered enough this week." While he was relieved to seen Med-Jai forces nearing Hamunaptra, the urgency still tugged at every fiber of his being. He was afraid they still wouldn't arrive soon enough.

"They will be here within an hour, I believe. I must go and try to gather as many guards as possible to rally to the prince. If you circle the camp that way, there are no traps, and no one is on patrol in that direction. You might be able to get to the tent where the prince is being held by the time I've gathered everyone I can."

Rick nodded, glad he at least didn't have to wait that long. He nodded as the Med-jai left, then slid off into the shadows their ally had indicated. He hated having to move so slowly, but he knew that if he was caught by the other red guards, he could do nothing to help Ardeth. He closed in on the tent Ardeth was held in and took a quick breath to ready himself before bursting through the tent door. Seeing Kasim hovering between himself and Ardeth, he cocked his guns to immediately draw attention to himself. He would have shot the traitor on sight but was afraid of what might happen to the prince if he was holding him at knife point. Kasim froze. Between clenched teeth Rick grated, "Step aside!" The man hesitated. "Move!"

After a moment more, Kasim moved—but he was lunging for Ardeth, trying to put the Med-jai between himself and Rick.

Rick pulled the trigger, releasing eight or nine rounds into Kasim before he realized what he was doing. Rick ran over to check on Ardeth to make sure he hadn't paid for Rick’s instinctive reaction.

Ardeth hadn't been hit by any of the bullets, but he was shaking violently. His eyes, fastened on Kasim's body, were sad. "How did you get here, my friend?" the boy asked, finally turning his attention to Rick. The left side of his face was badly bruised—his eye was almost swollen shut, and his lip and eyebrow had been split open.

Rick swallowed hard, trembling from the rush of adrenaline himself. He stared at Ardeth's injuries, horrified, not hearing the younger boy's words. He knelt beside his friend, looking over his fresh wounds. He breathed in relief to see that he hadn't shot him at least. He tried to speak, but he couldn't get any words to come out. He pulled out his knife to cut the rope around Ardeth's feet and then began to search the pockets in Kasim's robe for the keys to the manacles around his wrists.

Ardeth swallowed hard against his rising nausea. "Check inside his robes—there's usually a pocket sewn above his heart that he keeps important things in," the boy advised, stretching out his good leg, but keeping the leg that had been stabbed close to his chest.

Under Ardeth's instruction, Rick quickly found the key and turned back to unlock the cuffs. That's when he saw Bey's leg and blood flowing freely from the wound. He muttered an expletive as he moved to try and bandage it as carefully as he could. "I'm sorry," he murmured when he finally found his voice to speak again.

"You didn't cause this, my friend," Ardeth hissed in pain at Rick's touch, but otherwise managed to control his reaction. "We-we have to get out of here. Someone will have heard the shooting."

"Our friend is trying to convince the other red guards to defect. So hopefully, we won't have to. Besides, I don't think you can walk on that leg, and I know that I can't help you." He gently turned Ardeth's face to see the extent of the damage. "What did he do to you?" he breathed, still overwhelmed by his injuries.

"I was careless," Ardeth whispered, carefully bringing up his right hand to brush the bruises and wincing. The manacles had cut into the boy's wrists, and he frowned at the marks in confusion. "Kasim ambushed me in the tunnels and knocked me out."

Rick closed his eyes and bowed his head in grief and anger at himself. "I'm sorry, I should have been there. I know this is not the way you wanted it to end." He could tell that even though Kasim had been torturing him, that his death affected him greatly. He knew Ardeth had still hoped to save him.

"I am sorry too, my friend—I should have been the one to have to kill Kasim, since I was the one to declare him traitor. But I didn't want—I wished—" Finding himself at a loss for words, Ardeth dropped his head, shuddering.


	17. Med-jai

Rick placed his arms around his shoulders, careful that he didn't hurt him further, and let his friend's weight lean against him. He didn't know anything to say to help him feel better, hoping that being there for him would help.

Ardeth sat quietly in Rick's arms for several minutes before composing himself and straightening. "How did you get here? When I left, you were sleeping in the empty chamber, and I had several protections set up around the door to prevent anyone not Med-jai from entering in or leaving."

"I woke up, and I knew something was wrong." Rick shook his head as he tried to explain, uncertain that he really understood it himself. "I just knew you were hurt. I could feel it like it was me instead." He scoffed at how ridiculous it sounded, but the fact remained. "So, I left and came to find you. Once I got to the camp, our friend stopped me and pointed me to this tent while he left to get help." Rick shrugged, thinking that most of this would be a given. Ardeth saw he didn't understand his question.

Ardeth managed a faint smile. "My friend, you are a Med-jai. Only a Med-jai could walk through all of the defenses I activated on the door of the chamber where you slept."

"Wha—" But before he could even question it, he remembered the wave he had felt when he had left the room. A look of surprise came over his face as he knew what Ardeth said was true.

"Now all we need to do is get you the proper tattoos, so that you will be known to all Med-jai." Ardeth's muscles tensed as he fought down a wave of throbbing pain from his newest injuries.

Rick smiled at Ardeth's proposal but frowned again as he saw the strain on his face. He took out the tin with the healing herbs he had pocketed before leaving the room and started sorting through them. "There's got to be one in here for pain," he muttered.

Ardeth shook his head slightly. "The only one in there is one that will make me sleep. My father will be here soon, I'm sure, and I need to be awake to explain everything to him. He will not be pleased."

Rick frowned and closed the lid on the box. "About which part?"

"All of this." Ardeth waved a hand vaguely in the direction of Hamunaptra. "I'm supposed to be enjoying my first visit to a city in the outside world, not raising magical defenses in Hamunaptra that will take forever to deactivate." The younger boy frowned at his arm as it seemed to blur for a moment and realized that he was going into shock, but that was a good thing, since being in shock meant being numb to everything else.

"Considering the circumstances, I think he'll understand." Rick thought for a moment more about the significance of the Med-jai troops arriving. "So how do you think they'll take the idea of me being a Med-jai?" He wasn't sure if they would accept it easily since he was an outsider. But if they did, that would mean that he finally belonged somewhere. He smiled to think of himself and Ardeth dueling together on a regular basis, pulling pranks on Evy and Ardeth's cousins, getting in and out of trouble together. But the last one he decided they would definitely have to tone down a notch or two. They wouldn't last one more day let alone survive to adulthood on a steady diet of this.

Ardeth laughed quietly. "They will be absolutely thrilled to meet the American Med-jai who saved my life. They may be less thrilled about you being my best friend when they take into consideration our abilities to attract trouble, but that's their problem."

Rick laughed lightly. "Yeah, your dad and your uncle might both hunt me down if anything else happens to you." They'd have to get in line though, he thought, chuckling amusedly.

The sounds of fighting suddenly filled the air, and Ardeth smiled. “I believe our rescuers have arrived. We should wait here for them—I don’t want to tempt fate any more than we already have.”

Rick nodded exhaustedly. "I'd have to agree with you there. No more bad guys at least for a month." He knew it was a foolish hope, but still it was nice to imagine being free from death threats for a while. But just in case any enemies should come into the tent, he began to reload his guns. He thought it was strange how comfortable they felt in his hands since this was the first time he'd used guns of any sort.

Ardeth watched Rick reload the guns. "Your aim was very impressive, my friend. You said you haven't used guns before this?"

Rick smiled as he shook his head. "Never. But you know what?" He slid the ammunition cartridge back into the base of the handle. "I think I could get used to this." He kept the pistols in his hands as he settled to sit in the sand next to Ardeth, facing the door.

"We'll have to find you some holsters and get you some practice, then," Ardeth murmured, listening carefully to the thundering hooves and clashing blades just outside of the tent. None of the guards had tried to come in yet to drag him out as a hostage, which was unusual.

Rick and Ardeth listened to the din of battle for a while before it began to die away and a clamor rang out throughout the camp. Rick raised his guns, not sure if people shouting were on their side or not. A moment later, the cloth door of the tent was thrown aside.

Ardeth rested a hand on Rick's arm, pushing the gun down. "Hello, Father, Uncle," the boy said with a bright smile that faltered when he saw the horror on the faces of his father and uncle.

The king Rick knew immediately, because he looked like an older version of Ardeth. And it was interesting to see Dr. Bey in his Med-jai robes, since O’Connell had only ever seen him in a business suit. But in the faces of these hardened Med-jai, he saw an interesting contrast. They had a gruff appearance and imposing stature, making them intimidating to behold. But as they took in Ardeth's wounds, their warrior faces held shock and grief, two traits he would never have expected to see on faces like theirs. The king knelt in front of his son and, with a gentleness that surprised Rick, pulled Ardeth into his huge embrace, holding him close as if he'd never release him again.

Ardeth hugged his father back, trembling in reaction, very close to being overwhelmed now that he knew he was safe. "I missed you so much, Father," the boy whispered around the lump in his throat.

The king's breath hitched. "I am glad you are alive, my son," he whispered back. He had feared when word of the abduction had reached him that he would never see his son again. And now that the boy was in his arms, he could not hold back the tears that came to his eyes.

Rick watched the exchange with a small smile as he scooted away from Ardeth to make room for the king and Dr. Bey at the prince's side. He had to admit he was a little jealous of Ardeth, that he had a father to cling to. But in less than a second, that jealousy was smothered by the relief he felt that Ardeth was safe and joy for his friend's reunion with his family.

After a moment, Ardeth pulled back a little, enough that he could see his father's face, but still in the protective circle of the man's strong arms. "Father, Kasim—he was a—a traitor."

The king stared at Ardeth in horror for a second. "What?" he hissed the words in rage.

Ardeth dropped his eyes, shivering. "Kasim was the one who told the temple guards that I would be in Cairo. When Alack-nah and his men managed to get us here, Kasim was here."

At that moment, the king's face was a terrifying thing to behold. He spoke angrily in his native tongue for a moment. "How could he do this? He will pay for his treachery!" he spat.

"Father, he has already paid for his crimes. I stripped him of his rights as a Med-jai, and when Rick came to rescue me, he killed Kasim," Ardeth told his father quickly, pointing to the body a few feet away.

Both Dr. Bey and the king regarded the corpse with disdain. Ardeth's father turned back to his son, nodding. Then, they looked at Rick for a moment, who felt a little uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the king's eyes.

"I thank you for saving my son's life," the king said solemnly, inclining his head in gratitude. Rick could only nod, not knowing exactly what to say in response.

Ardeth smiled at Rick reassuringly. "Rick O'Connell has proven himself many times over to be a true Med-jai, Father. He was able to pass through the Med-jai protection shields I raised in the tunnels just a little while ago."

Both the king and Terrence looked at Ardeth, astonished by his words, and then back at Rick again, eyeing him appraisingly. This really made Rick want to squirm. He was hardly used to Dr. Bey’s keen gaze let alone the added stare of the king. Both studied him for a moment, as if looking for something not readily identifiable. It took all Rick's concentration to sit still, hoping they would find what they were looking for. But then how would they react if they did? How would they react if they didn't?

After a long moment, the two adults turned away from Rick and exchanged a glance. Then, the king leaned forward, one arm still around Ardeth's shoulders, and offered his hand to the boy. "My son speaks truly—you are Med-jai. Welcome to the tribe, young O'Connell."

Rick's face broke into a wide grin, and he took the king's hand. He glanced at Ardeth who returned the smile. At that moment, the young American felt a joy and a peace that he hadn't felt since his entire family had passed away. He wasn’t just a nobody anymore. He belonged to these people, something he never thought he'd have again. "Thank you, Your Majesty," he said quietly to the king, almost unable to even get the words out.

"Now," the king continued, glancing at the bandages wrapped around Rick's injuries and wincing again when he looked at his son's wounds. "We need to get a healer to tend to both of you. Terrence, ask Amir to come in."

Rick chuckled as Dr. Bey left the tent. "We may end up looking like mummies ourselves by the time they get through patching us up," he commented as he leaned back against one of the tent's outer supports.

Ardeth laughed softly also. "That would be unfortunate." The boy suddenly realized something and winced slightly. "I activated most of the defenses around the Creature, Father. I don't think I'm going to be strong enough to take them down for a while."

The king nodded. "You have done well, my son. But now, it is time for you to rest. I will take care of Hamunaptra's defenses."

"Oh, good. You shouldn't have problems with the Creature speaking for a few days, though—I ordered it to be silent," Ardeth admitted, hoping that his own guilt at disobeying instructions about using his gifts wouldn't lead him to confess everything that had happened during this little adventure.

The king smiled. He was not angry, though he could sense that his son was nervous. "Single-handedly, you have managed to protect the City of the Dead from perils within and without. You have shown that you already have the abilities that make you a great leader before your time has even come. You have done well, Ardeth. I am proud of you." He laid a hand on his son's shoulder, beaming at the courage he had shown.

"I didn't do it all by myself," Ardeth protested, flinching as he moved his injured leg. "Rick helped me the entire time, and the spy we had in the guards helped also."

The king acknowledged Rick's courage also with a smile. "Then, we are indebted to you as well, young O’Connell.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Rick said. “I’m just glad we were able to stop them and that Ardeth’s safe now.”

“I am too,” Suleimon sighed, looking over at Ardeth before continuing. “I am relieved that our spy was able to avoid detection. He has convinced most of the guards to join our cause. We will have to keep a close eye on them, of course, to ensure that their change of heart is genuine. He says that their defection was mostly in deference to you," he looked at Ardeth.

"You should have seen them," Rick agreed, laughter in his voice. "He's supposed to be their prisoner, and they part for him like the Red Sea!" At that moment, Dr. Terrence entered with the healer.

"Rick first!" Ardeth promptly declared, sending a smirk at the older boy. Amir glanced from Ardeth to Rick, assessing both of their injuries, then looked at the king.

The king nodded, trying to contain his laughter. He could tell from the glances exchanged by the two boys that they had had arguments like this before. And he knew his son could be incredibly stubborn when it came to things like this. As much as he wanted to see his son treated first, he knew Ardeth would be far more cooperative with Amir once his friend had been seen to. In a way, he was proud of his son, caring for others before he thought of himself. The mark of a good king.

With another glance at Ardeth, Amir rolled his eyes, then went over to Rick. Pulling a large cloth out of his bag, the healer spread it out on the sand, then turned to Rick. "Do you need help removing your clothes, young man?"

At first, Rick scoffed, but as he moved to pull his arms out of his sleeves, he let his breath out in a hiss. The healer gave him a scolding glance before the boy consented to take the help he had offered. Gently, the man helped him remove what was left of his shirt. The blood had dried to the cloth around the wound, causing Rick cringe momentarily as it was pulled away before he stiffened, trying to school his face into an impassive mask but not having much success. Amir had to be very cautious as he peeled the fabric away from Rick’s skin in order to prevent the gunshot wound in the boy’s shoulder from starting to bleed again.

Expertly, the man helped him lie down on the clean cloth and began examining his injuries. It took him quite a while—he was washing away the worst of the dirt as he worked, which revealed even more bruises and scratches.

Ardeth watched the entire process quietly—with his father's help, he had managed to move closer, and he rested a hand on Rick's arm to give him something pleasant to focus on.

Rick looked over at Ardeth with an amused smile. "So, how did you enjoy your first trip to the city?" He winced as the last of his wounds were cleaned out and bandaged up.

"Well, I didn't really get to see that much of it—just a few streets and back alleys and the Museum." Ardeth shook his head slightly, blinking rapidly as his vision blurred for a moment, then cleared. "Next time, maybe you could show me around a bit more before people start trying to kill us."

Rick laughed. "Whirlwind tour of Egypt! Some people actually pay good money for the week we just had… well, minus all the added perks we seemed to incur. But hey, we know every square centimeter of that library and your uncle's office now." Rick grasped Ardeth's wrist as the healer turned to him.

Ardeth smiled weakly at the healer. "Well met, Amir. It's been a while since I've seen you." The boy winced inwardly at his words—he had been trying to distract the man, but instead brought up the last time he'd been under Amir's care. That had been right after the mummy attack.

Amir managed a smile back at the prince for a moment. He seemed to have unique ability to look both sad and happy at the same time. While he was overjoyed that Ardeth was alive, he was deeply grieved to see him injured thus. "And you, Your Majesty. You haven't changed much since the last time I saw you. If I didn't know better, I'd say these were the same wounds, still fresh."

"This happens to you a lot then, I take it?" Rick joked.

"Not that much. I'm usually able to avoid getting injured," Ardeth grumbled and sighed when Amir spread another cloth out and practically lifted him onto it.

"Yeah." Rick tried to think of a different subject to talk about, guessing that the wounds of the recent past might be too difficult for either of them to think about. He looked at Dr. Bey. "So, how did you explain what happened to Evy?"

The older man looked up from his study of the boys' wounds and smiled. "Miss Carnahan believes that Ardeth was being kidnapped, and you happened to be in the way. She was most distraught when she got me but also very helpful. Her memory will have to be dealt with," the man commented to the king.

Rick was glad to know that she was okay, but looked at Dr. Bey in confusion. "Her memory? How are you going to manage that? She can be a bit scatterbrained at times, but I don't think she'd easily forget something like that."

"The Med-jai royal family has certain powers that we can use when an innocent becomes aware of too much. Usually, we use this in regards to information about Hamunaptra," Suleimon said, exchanging a grave glance with Terrance.

"But it won't hurt her, will it?" Rick asked, a little concerned.

"No, of course not—it will just make her believe that certain events just…never happened." The king's smile was meant to be reassuring, but his eyes, focused on Rick, were considering.

“Okay, good." As Rick looked at the king, he could feel there was a deeper meaning in his words, but at the moment, he was too tired to coax it forward or to care. They were finally safe, and at the moment, that was all that mattered to him.

Amir was nearly done tending to Ardeth—the boy lay perfectly still, fists clenched around the cloth under him. "I'm ready for a long rest."

"Heh, you and me both, buddy." Rick looked at Ardeth's tightened features, and his face darkened to know the pain he was in, emotionally and physically. But now it was over, and he could begin to heal. They both could. He reached over, his arm moving only reluctantly at his brain's command. He pulled over a pillow and propped Ardeth's head on it as best he could. As he was doing this, Suleimon took off his outer robe and stretched it gently over his son. He also blocked his view as, unbeknownst to Ardeth, Dr. Bey silently moved the traitor's corpse out of the tent.

Ardeth blinked up at his father as the soft folds of cloth fell onto his skin. "I'll get your robes dirty, Father!" he protested sleepily. Now that his injuries were tended to and he and Rick were safe, he was finally giving in to his exhaustion.

Suleimon shook his head, amused. "They can be washed, my son. Sleep now, Ardeth. Deep, dreamless sleep."

Exhausted, Rick lay out on the cloth that had been spread for him to clean his wounds.

Ardeth's eyes slowly closed. "I lost my robes. Gonna take f'rever to make new ones,” the boy's voice slurred as he spoke, and seconds later, he was asleep.

"What is it with him and his robes?" Rick wondered out loud sleepily as he too fell asleep.

Suleimon rested a hand on Ardeth's forehead, gently tracing the marks that declared the boy to be Med-jai royalty, then turned to Amir. "How badly hurt are the boys? Will they be able to travel soon?"

"They both have many wounds. Most of them are healing, but the wounds in Ardeth's leg and O’Connell’s shoulder are severe and fresh. They could travel, but on stretchers, not on horseback."

The king sighed softly and nodded. "Then, we will set up camp here and wait a few days before our journey. Ardeth used his powers to silence the Creature, to strip the traitor of his rights as a Med-jai, and to raise the defenses of Hamunaptra—will this effect his healing at all?"

"He has certainly been through a great deal. Given the strain he was under and how much he exerted himself to place those barriers, his healing will take longer than it will for his friend. But he will heal, and heal completely, Your Majesty. Now as to how long it will take for him to recover from the wounds of betrayal, that will take longer. Much, much longer. He will need your strength to look to as a guide."

"For my son, I will be strong," Suleimon murmured, studying Ardeth's face. In sleep, the boy looked much younger than fourteen. The king straightened to his full height. "I must go see to the setting up of the camp. Will you watch my son and his friend, tending to their needs?" the man asked formally, hating the duty that meant he had to leave his child's side.

"Of course, sire." Amir nodded at the king understandingly. He had three children of his own and knew what was in the king's heart at that moment. He moved to place a blanket over O'Connell who lay on the mat next to Ardeth's. The boy had been so tired, he had forgotten to put on the shirt that had been laid out for him after his wounds had been cleaned. He then sat watching the boys, scimitar nearby in case it was needed.

When Ardeth woke up, it was nearly sunset, and there was a fire set up in the tent, providing welcome light and warmth. His father was sitting on the other side of the tent, quietly talking with Amir and Terrance, and Rick was next to him. The boy lay still for a moment, enjoying the sense of safety that filled the air. While he was aware that they were still at Hamunaptra, the Med-jai army was there, and they would deal with any problems that arose.

After a moment, he started trying to fight his way free of the cloth on him, sleep-drugged muscles having difficulty obeying him.

The adults turned their attention to Ardeth as he struggled to get free of the robe wrapped around him. "Do not thrash so violently, my son," his father warned as he moved over to help disentangle him. "You will reopen the wound in your leg."

"I don't like feeling trapped," Ardeth confessed sheepishly as his father quickly freed him from the entangling folds. "Is there real food? Something other than jerky and water?"

Suleimon had to fight to suppress the grin that came to his face. He waved over at his brother, as if his presence in and of itself ought to answer the question. Dr. Bey ladled out fresh food for the prince and brought the plate to him.

The aroma of the delicious food was enough to jog Rick out of slumber. The boy groggily rolled over. "Something smells good."

"There's food—real food," Ardeth told Rick, between mouthfuls. "Are you awake enough to eat?"

Rick perked up quickly. "Yes, especially if it's your uncle's."

Dr. Bey laughed as he brought a plate over for Rick as well. "Well, it's good to see that you boys are feeling well enough to eat."

"Even if I wasn't, I would sure try hard," Rick assured him.

"Thank you for the food, uncle," Ardeth said, suddenly remembering his manners. While the jerky had kept them going, it was wonderful to have tasty, filling food again. "What's going to happen now?"

“We rest until you have healed enough to travel, and then we will journey home. I think you have more than earned a time of rest,” Suleimon replied.

Rick listened while he ate, wondering if that meant that he was coming too.

Ardeth nodded and glanced over at Rick, looking mischievous. “Are we bringing Rick home? I want him to see it. And he does need his markings.”

"Yes, and it is there that will perform his sacred rite," Dr. Bey said nodding.

Rick couldn't hold in his whoop of delight. He looked at his best friend, grinning broadly. He couldn't wait to see what Ardeth's home looked like. And it would be a nice change after staying in Hamunaptra for so long. Even with the Creature silenced, the place was still very ominous, and he would have no regrets about leaving it behind.

Laughing quietly, the younger boy grinned at the expression on Rick's face. "And I will introduce you to all of my cousins, and we will have great fun playing pranks on them."

"Yeah," Rick agreed, a wicked glint in his eye. "What shall we do to them first?"

"There are many, many possibilities—but we'll talk about it later, when there aren't adults around who would feel obligated to stop us." Ardeth's eyes were dancing with mirth as he looked up at the three men watching them.

The adults laughed merrily to see the two boys conspiring together. Suleimon shook his head in amusement, glad to see his son smiling again so soon after all he had been through. Maybe his recovery wouldn't take as long as Amir had suspected.

Absently picking at the edge of the bandage wrapped around his leg, Ardeth looked up at his father. "Did you bring Horus with you?"

Suleimon looked at Dr. Bey who rose and went to the entrance to fetch him. "I'll have you know, nephew, that he has been quite restless without you. He ruined two of my finest rugs."

Ardeth winced slightly. "Horus always seems to know when I'm in trouble and usually tries to come rescue me," the boy told Rick.

The curator scoffed as he walked off to fetch the bird. "We had to chase him down a few times," the king explained. "Aside from the design from your robe that you left in the sand, he helped to guide us to you sooner."

"So, you were able to follow the trail I left? Well, at least until they started letting me ride behind someone—there wasn't any way to leave a trail then." Ardeth smiled brightly as his uncle brought the falcon in. "Horus!" The bird screeched wildly and immediately flew to Ardeth, settling on the boy's shoulder and trying to preen his hair.

Rick smiled. "So, this is Horus. He's very glad to see you, that's for sure." He scooted over to look at him a little more closely. The falcon was small, very young. So, it was amusing to see him standing on Ardeth's shoulder, tugging at his hair affectionately.

Ardeth winced as the bird discovered a knot in his hair and proceeded to nearly rip it out, trying to get it straight. "Alright, Horus, that's enough. Come meet my friend Rick." Ardeth held out his bare arm, and the bird neatly climbed onto it, careful not to tighten his talons. "Horus, this is Rick—he saved my life. Rick, this is Horus, a very dear friend of mine."

Rick moved his hand carefully over and stroked Horus’ head, trying desperately to keep from laughing at Ardeth’s predicament. Since the bird was so young, his feathers were much softer than those on the hunting birds Rick usually saw in the bazaar. “He’s beautiful. How old is he?”

"Not quite a year old. Father's falcon, Altaira, gave me an egg just after my first month of duty here. Horus has appointed himself my guardian and hates to let me out of his sight."

Rick laughed. "So I see," he said, watching as Horus took up a very protective stance on Ardeth's shoulder, seeming to be keeping watch from his perch. "A very smart bird."

At that, the fledgling lifted his head higher, looking very proud of himself. Ardeth gently stroked the bird's feathers, smiling. The boy yawned widely, then flinched as the bruises covering the left side of his face pulled painfully.

Rick grimaced to see Ardeth's reaction to the pain. The bruise was very deep purple, from split brow to split lip. If it was half as painful as it looked, which he suspected it was, Rick was certain that his friend had a major headache to go with it. Rick was sporting a fairly deep bruise himself from Alack-nah's fist, but no where near as bad as Ardeth's. "How do you feel, buddy?"

"Like someone hit me in the face with the hilt of a sword," Ardeth said wryly, gently brushing his fingers over the swollen bruises. "This will make archery classes difficult."

Rick groaned in pain from just thinking about the bow string whipping across the bruise around his eye. "I think you might want to wait on that for a while."

Ardeth tried to hold back a smile as he looked innocently up at Suleimon. "Father, do I have to start classes again right away?" he asked plaintively.

Suleimon looked at his son, shaking his head. "I think you need to take a few days off, until you've healed more."

"Oh good. I don't want to deal with lessons right now." The boy nudged Horus, pointing the bird to a perch set up in the corner of the tent. With a short hop and a few flaps of his wings, the falcon was settling on the perch, watching Ardeth intently. Trying to hold back another yawn, the young Med-jai settled back down to rest some more.

Rick could imagine. Despite his friend's light expression, he was pretty sure that it would be very painful for him to be reminded so soon again of Kasim. But he said nothing of this. He stretched his shoulder gingerly for a second, then with a sharp intake of air immediately halted that exercise. Maybe later, he thought.

Ardeth opened one eye to glare at Rick. "Did you just try to move your arm?" he asked sternly—his reaction was even faster than Amir's, startling the men in the tent.

Rick looked up, saw the way Ardeth was eyeing him, and, had his shoulder not been in pain at that second, he would have burst out laughing at his friend's knowing expression. "Yeah, but it wasn't too fond of the idea,” he said as shifted his weight slightly to where the pole he was leaning against aligned more with the center of his back. "I'm okay though."

"Go back to sleep. In the morning, I can show you the training that Horus is going through," Ardeth ordered, closing his eye again.

Rick smiled. "Yes, sir," he said reverently as he lay down. He was still very tired, even though they had just woken up an hour or two ago. Ardeth knew him too well. He fell asleep, still grinning.


	18. Healing Hearts

The three adults exchanged amused glances. "I believe my son thinks he has a twin brother now," Suleimon murmured, watching the boys sleep with a gentle smile.

"Maybe he does," Dr. Bey joked. "If not for their appearance, it would be difficult to discern between the two. Both stubborn, loyal, brave, foolhardy at times, and have an uncanny ability to find trouble where ever they go. When I found that they were friends in Cairo, I was nearly terrified for Ardeth's life."

"How long have you known young O'Connell? Has he previously shown any signs of being Med-jai?" the king asked, standing and moving over to make certain both boys were covered with blankets and protected against the night chill.

"I've known him since he was very young. When his family first came, they used to spend a lot of time at the museum, but when his parents died, he seemed to avoid it whenever he could. Understandable, considering the circumstances. I didn't see much of him after that, unless the priest at the orphanage forced him to visit for academic purposes. But however he tries to escape it, he has his parent's obsession with the ancient history of this country. I do not believe he has come to terms with this yet. Since I saw him very rarely, I had seen no manifestations beyond his curiosity. He appears to have keen perceptions, though I do not know if he is aware of it yet, and he cannot seem to curb his need to protect others. I had wondered at times but was uncertain. No opportunity to test my theories has arisen until now."

"He has a destiny to fulfill. I do not think that I will be able to keep him in Kiriyah Gan as Ardeth will surely want," Suleimon sighed as he settled back down next to Terrance and Amir. "I think I may have to adjust his memory."

Dr. Bey considered this. He knew that the king was right. But he also knew, as did Suleimon, how painful this news would be to both of the boys. He hadn't seen Rick this happy since his parents had died. He knew the boy had probably been searching since that time for a purpose, something or someone to belong to. And Ardeth had found a close friend in the American and would be grieved to lose him. "But the boy is Med-jai—we cannot simply cast him away, especially after all he has done for Ardeth," he said quietly.

"No—my heart tells me that O'Connell will aid Ardeth again in a time of desperate need. We will give young O'Connell the sacred mark and then perform the memory charm—any Med-jai who sees that mark will aid him."

Dr. Bey nodded, satisfied. He also felt that Rick and Ardeth's paths would cross again. But he knew somehow that Rick and Ardeth would not be so pleased with the news. He scooted closer to his brother. "When should we tell them?"

"Not until they are both healed. I don't want Ardeth getting so upset about this that he worsens his injuries." The king shook his head. "Let us get some rest. I'll take first watch in here."

Dr. Bey and Amir nodded, rolling out their mats and settling down for the night. Terrence knew in a few hours it would be his turn. He rolled over and soon went to sleep, leaving the king alone with his thoughts.

Suleimon moved to sit between the two boys, resting his hands on their foreheads. He sat there quietly, incredibly thankful that his son was alive and well. His son was all he had left after his wife had died in childbirth.

Both boys stirred somewhat at the gentle touch, but now that they were surrounded by friends, they did not rouse. The night passed slowly, but he didn't mind. Ardeth was safe again. The traitor had been found and dealt with. Suleimon hung his head in pain. Kasim had been his closest friend and best warrior. He had trusted him with his son's life. How could he have betrayed that trust?

After a few hours, he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. "Suleimon?" Terrance asked quietly, glancing at the boys to make certain they were still sleeping. "Are you all right?"

The king exhaled deeply and shook his head. "How could he have done this, Terrence? Betrayed his own people? Tortured my son? What madness drove him to forsake everything he had fought and bled for all his life?"

"I do not know, Suleimon. I cannot understand it any more than you can. When Ardeth has healed somewhat, you will want to speak to him about it—Kasim may have given him some reason." Terrance offered a hand to the king to help him up. "For now, get some sleep. Your son will need you in the morning to give him some boundaries, or he will try to do too much at once."

Suleimon chuckled lightly at this. "How is it that you know my son so well, even though you haven't seen him since he was five?"

"Because he acts just like his father."

"Indeed, he does."

Ardeth stirred at the sound of voices and blinked at his father and uncle. "Is something wrong?" he asked quietly, barely awake.

"No, Ardeth. Go back to sleep," his father assured him as he lay out his own cot next to the boy's.

"Then, be quiet," Ardeth grumbled before shifting closer to Rick and falling back asleep. The two boys were in positions that mirrored each other.

Suleimon and Terrence exchanged a glance at this. Maybe they are twins somehow, the king thought musingly as he lay down next to his son. "One thing is certain," Terrence whispered to his brother. "He is beginning to pick up some of Rick's bad habits."

"Talking back to his elders?" Suleimon asked quietly as he forced himself to relax.

Terrence nodded emphatically.

"He will remember his place quickly once he is back home. His cousins will not allow him to continue any bad habits for long."

Terrence chuckled at this. "Maybe they can cure O'Connell of this trait as well before I take him back to Cairo. Sleep well, brother."

"Thank you, brother. Wake me if there's any change." Suleimon rested one hand on Ardeth's arm for reassurance and was finally able to sleep.

Rick rolled onto his stomach the next morning and was awakened harshly as his face came into abrupt contact with something hard and metal. He opened his eyes and saw that he had rolled right off of his sleeping mat and plowed face-first into some weird metal trinket protruding from the sand. Guess my gun must have fallen out of my pocket sometime last night, he thought drowsily. Still somewhat groggy, he stuffed it back into his pocket. But afterwards, he found he couldn't go back to sleep and sat up reluctantly.

Ardeth was still asleep with Horus sitting next to him, trying to preen the boy's hair again. Suleimon and Terrance weren't in the tent, but Amir was, and he was watching Rick. "How do you feel this morning?"

"A little better than yesterday. Not much, but I figure it'll probably take a while. How long were we out?"

"It's an hour after dawn. Come sit over here, and I'll tend to your injuries," Amir told Rick, pointing to a clean rug next to a basin of water. "I'm amazed the prince is still asleep—he normally gets up well before dawn."

Rick scooted over, nodding in gratitude to the healer. "Yeah, he was fighting off an infection on our way here. I don't think my healing abilities quite match your own."

Amir smiled warmly at the boy. "You did an exceptional job with the limited resources you had. Ardeth is very fortunate that you were there to help him, otherwise he might have lost his arm."

Rick was surprised by the compliment. "Thanks." He looked over at the prince. His bruise had begun to change colors. "How long do you think it will take him to heal from what he went through?"

"The prince is young and resilient. He will be up and about, causing mischief within ten days," Amir predicted, removing the bandages from Rick's injuries and tending to them carefully.

Rick smiled. "Good." He sat still while Amir worked. His shoulder wound was the worst, as he had expected. "How do you treat a wound that goes all the way through?" He tried to twist his head around to see how Amir was treating it, but the stiffness in his shoulder from the night before had traveled up through his neck while he slept. He winced at the pain, then turned back to face forward again.

"Sit still, foolish boy, or you will make it worse!" Amir admonished before continuing his work. "With an injury such as this, it must first be cleaned out very carefully. I am packing it with healing herbs that will be changed several times a day, and it will be kept bandaged for a while. Most people prefer to stitch it, but I believe there is better mobility if it is left without stitches."

Rick had to stop himself from nodding. He would have to remember that, especially now that he had guns. He forced himself to wait patiently and not move until Amir was done.

Once the man was finished, he retrieved a warm damp cloth from next to the fire and placed it over Rick's shoulder and neck. "This should loosen up your muscles some. A little later, I will help you and Ardeth bathe in the oasis.”

"Thank you." Rick crawled over and sat on his sleep mat again.

Ardeth stirred a little and opened his eyes, blinking at Rick. "Morning," he mumbled, absently petting Horus and trying to get his hair away from the bird's beak.

"Morning," Rick smiled, glad to see Ardeth awake. "You feeling any better?"

"Somewhat. It's nice to get a full night's sleep. How are you doing?" Ardeth asked, stretching and wincing as he accidentally pulled on his wounds

"Doing better. Can't turn my neck yet, but better," Rick chuckled. "Also nice not to wake up to death threats for a change."

Ardeth grinned back at Rick and sat up carefully. "Yes, that is very nice. I want food, though."

At that moment, Rick remembered he hadn't seen Ardeth's uncle this morning. "Where's Dr. Bey?" he asked Amir.

"He and the king are working to get the army mobilized. One of the other tribes is taking over watch duty here, and the others are going back to their own duties," Amir told them, coming over and handing both boys plates of food.

"Thank you," Rick said gratefully. He had been so distracted this morning that he hadn't realized how hungry he'd been. "When are we headed back to your home?"

Ardeth looked up at Amir, cocking his head to one side. "Amir?" he asked, focusing on his food.

"We will leave for Kiriyah Gan once you two have healed enough for travel," the healer said, starting to take care of Ardeth's wounds while the boy was distracted with food.

"Aww, man. This waiting to heal is getting old," Rick whined.

"The less you do, the more quickly it will heal," Amir said.

"I know," Rick groaned. "That's the part that's getting old." The boy had already begun to get restless.

Ardeth laughed. "While we are waiting for today at least, I will teach you how to care for your guns. If you are to carry a weapon, you must know how to take care of it."

Rick seemed to cheer up considerably at that statement. "Okay," he agreed as he finished up his food.

Wincing as Amir started tending to the ragged wound on his leg, Ardeth glared half-heartedly at the man. "I thought you were supposed to help it heal, not make the hole bigger!"

Amir shook his head. “The wound must be cleaned if you wish to keep your leg," he replied pointedly.

With a heavy sigh, the boy dropped his eyes and didn't say anything else. Inwardly, he tried to focus on stopping his instinctive reaction of lashing out at people. They were safe now.

"After you help teach me to clean my guns, you'll have to show me what Horus can do," Rick said, trying to distract the prince from the pain.

"Yes—Horus loves showing off." Ardeth managed a smile as he looked over at Rick. A moment later, Suleimon strode into the tent, quite happy to see the boys awake.

“Good morning, son, O’Connell. How are you feeling this morning?” the king asked.

Ardeth smiled at his father, ignoring Amir as the healer continued to work. “Good morning, Father. It’s wonderful to be safe again. How did you sleep?”

"I slept well last night for the first time this week." The king chuckled as he observed the two empty plates. "Well, I see neither of you wasted any time in getting to your breakfasts."

Glancing at Rick, Ardeth smirked lightly. "The past week has reinforced my appreciation on good food."

"Here, here," Rick agreed eagerly. Amir finished up on Ardeth's wounds and cleared the healing supplies out of the way so the king could sit next to his son.

Before Amir could leave, the boy grabbed his wrist lightly. "Thank you, Amir. I'm sorry about earlier," he said quietly, letting go of the man's wrist and dropping his eyes.

Amir smiled down at the prince as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "It is alright. You have been through much and suffered a great deal for someone your age. I'm surprised with the pain you are in that you were able to hold your tongue for as long as you did."

With a shy smile, the boy relaxed some and carefully scooted closer to one of the supports so that he could lean up against it. "Father, do we have any cleaning supplies for guns here? I promised Rick I'd show him how to take care of his new weapons."

The king smiled, amused as Rick quickly scooted over to Ardeth, taking on of the guns out of his pockets, already eager to start. "We do. I will return with them shortly." And with that, he rose to head to the munitions supply they had brought with them to Hamunaptra.

"This will be entertaining. Father almost always starts lecturing without realizing it," Ardeth commented, carefully stretching his wounded leg out in front of him.

Rick laughed. "I wouldn't mind it too much. I never appreciated that while I had it myself. I miss it. You wouldn't think you would miss being lectured by your parents, but you do." He sighed before he smiled and asked, "So, I take it he and Dr. Bey are a lot alike?"

"I wouldn't know—I knew Uncle Terrance when I was very young, but I don't remember him well. And we only saw him for a little while in Cairo." Ardeth glanced over Rick's injuries carefully. "How is the mobility this morning?"

"I haven't really tested my leg yet." He moved his right arm slowly but didn’t dare try his left one. "Well, my arm is stiff, but better than I had expected. But I don't think I'll be able to turn my neck for another two days at least. It didn't take too well to it when I tried as Amir was working on it before you woke up. And your leg, does it feel better than last night at all?"

Ardeth ghosted his fingers over the clean new bandage. "It's some better. I don't think I'll be able to walk for a while, though."

Rick looked down at it. He could still see it in his mind as it had been the night he had been tortured. He shuddered to think of what more could have happened had they not been rescued when they were.

"Grab that clean rug and move it over here, please," Ardeth requested, painfully moving his leg so that they would have room to work in front of where they were sitting.

Rick did as he was instructed, wedging his gun under his less injured arm and then using that hand to pull the rug closer. But then as he returned with it, he noticed that the other gun was lying in the sand between his and Ardeth's mat. He eyed it, confused as he picked it up. "Hmm, that's strange."

"What's strange?" Ardeth asked, suddenly realizing that he didn't have a shirt on, and his robes were nowhere to be found. He sighed.

"I could have sworn I put this in my pocket this morning," he said as he looked at it, but then shrugged. "Then again, I was half-asleep when it collided with my face." He sat down holding the guns, one in each hand, and sliding out the ammunition cartridges.

"Yes—it would be wise to not sleep with the guns. If you're restless, the safety could easily come off, and you could get seriously injured.

"Oooooookay," Rick said slowly, grimacing. "Yeah, no more sleeping with guns," he said as if engraving it in his mind so he would never forget it.

Ardeth took one of the guns and started taking it apart, moving slowly so that Rick could see what he was doing. Each of the pieces went onto the rug in a specific pattern. "When Father gets back, we will use a bit of oil and a rag to clean every part of the gun. If there is any sand in the mechanism of the gun, it will not fire properly."

Soon, the king came back with the supplies and sat down. He carefully laid them out on the rug.

Ardeth sat back and let his father take over. Suleimon carefully explained what each part of the gun was for, showing Rick how to properly clean it and then how to put it back together. After that, the king had Rick take the other one apart on his own, watching carefully and occasionally offering advice.

It didn't take long for Rick to get the hang of it. The movements came very naturally to him. After a while, he could disassemble and reassemble the guns fairly quickly. Both Suleimon and Ardeth could tell he was thoroughly enjoying this new-found skill.

"So, do you feel comfortable with this, my friend?" Ardeth asked, trying to hide his slightly mischievous grin. "Are you ready for the next step?"

Rick could hardly hide his enthusiasm as he looked at Ardeth in eager anticipation. A broad grin stretched across his face. "Oh yeah!"

"Very well then." Ardeth wrapped a piece of cloth over Rick's eyes, blindfolding him. "Now take it apart and put it back together as fast as you can."

Rick laughed for a moment as the blindfold draped his eyes. He had not been expecting this. But the second the cloth touched his face, he knew he should have, remembering now how Ardeth had spoken of when he had learned to fight with his scimitar the same way. He fumbled with the pieces for a moment before breathing in and out deeply. He stopped and refocused all his attention on what he was holding with his hands. This is no different than before, he told himself. After a second, he tried again. His hands remembered better this time what they already knew how to do.

When he had completed that task several times, Ardeth took off the blindfold, smiling. "Well done, my friend," he said quietly, handing over a canteen.

Rick beamed as he took a swig of the water. "Thanks, buddy, and thank you, Your Majesty, for showing me how to do this." He handed the canteen back to Ardeth.

"We need to get you some holsters for those guns," Ardeth decided and looked at his father out of the corner of his eye, once again trying not to smile.

His father shook his head in amusement. "I shall return," he said as he rose again and exited the tent. After a minute or two, he returned with twin holsters and an ammunition bandoleer. Rick's eyes went wide. They were the kind that held the guns on either side of the chest, with straps that went over the shoulders and secured at the belt.

"Thank you," Rick said excitedly as the king placed it into his hands. Immediately, Rick put it on and, after applying the safety, carefully slid each of his guns into the holsters.

"Thank you, Father," Ardeth murmured, watching Rick messing with the adjustments of the straps. "Practice getting the guns out quickly, Rick. You don't want to have to waste any seconds during a fight."

Rick tried it, but it did take him a few times to get it right. "Wow, it's harder than it looks," Rick mused as he practiced a couple times more. "Funny, I would have thought that this of all things was the easiest part." But soon, he was able to draw both guns with no problem.

"We'll have to save the target practice for later, I'm afraid," Ardeth told him with a smile. "Maybe later, we can work on other types of guns—the revolvers are excellent for many things, but the shotgun packs much more of a blast. That will have to wait until your arms are completely healed, though."

Rick laughed ruefully. He had seen the kind of punch those things pack, and his shoulder didn’t need that kind of jarring right now. He was more than willing to wait on that one. “That’s okay. You’ve already taught me a lot today.” He smiled in appreciation. “Thank you. Maybe after we have lunch, you can show me what Horus can do.”

Stretching carefully, the boy smiled at his falcon—Horus was on his perch, watching everything carefully. “Yes, Horus will be glad to show you everything he knows. Won’t you, my friend?” Ardeth asked, and the falcon screeched a response.

"He can really understand us, can't he?" Rick asked, remembering how the bird had responded when he had called him smart.

"Yes, he can. Horus is very special." At that, Horus shifted restlessly on the perch, and eyed Ardeth for a moment. The boy laughed and held up his arm. Immediately, the bird launched into the air and flew across the tent to settle on Ardeth's arm between the two boys.

At that moment, Dr. Bey came in. "Ah, they're awake. Good morning, boys." Ardeth and Rick greeted Terrence as he moved over next to his brother. "Our spy from within the temple guard ranks has given his report on the events of the past week. We have eight new recruits among our ranks thanks to Ardeth." He smiled at the prince.

Ardeth looked a little surprised. "I expected one or two, but eight is wonderful. Were you able to find out what happened to the tribe that was supposed to be on guard duty?"

He nodded. "Locked away in the crypt within Hamunaptra, taken there under the guise of fortifying their positions. My guess is that the red guards intended to offer them to the Creature once it had arisen. Fortunately, they had only been there for a short time. They are all quite hungry, but very much alive."

Ardeth's shoulders slumped as he sighed in relief. "From what Alack-nah and—and Kasim said, I was afraid that they were all dead."

"No doubt that is what he intended you to think," Suleimon said comfortingly, putting his arm around his son. "But he lied—they are all alive and will live to defend the city again thanks to your wisdom. You and Rick both have saved their lives by your actions that night."

Horus, irritated at having Suleimon's arm on his intended destination of Ardeth's shoulder, immediately hopped over onto Rick's arm, carefully avoiding the bandages.

Rick, who had been so focused on the conversation, started for a moment in surprise at the light touch. He smiled as he stroked Horus' chest. I can see why Ardeth is so attached to him, he thought. His arm was a little stiff, but Horus was so light that his weight didn't tug on the torn muscles in his arm. But just to be on the safe side, he rested his arm across his outstretched legs.

The bird cocked his head to one side, studying Rick's face carefully, then seemed to almost nod in approval. The bird turned so that he could keep an eye on Ardeth.

"Hey, I think I pass," Rick murmured to himself.

Amir came over just then, balancing two plates of food. He mock-scowled at Suleimon and Terrance. "You two have to go get your own plates!" he declared, handing Rick and Ardeth the plates he carried.

Rick hid the smile that immediately came to his face. The two brothers rolled their eyes as if this were the gravest of inconveniences as they rose and went to get their food. Not wanting to disturb Horus, without thought he reached out with his left hand to take the plate Amir handed him.

"Put that back down, boy," Amir scolded. He didn't need to—Rick's shoulder was already doing that for him. Rick winced as the stiffness and pain flared up from the motion. "Horus will find another place to light," Amir said.

Rick looked at the falcon apologetically. "Sorry, Horus."

The bird cheeped at him before hopping off of Rick and over to Ardeth, climbing up the boy to claim one of his shoulders. When Suleimon came back in, he was greeted by the glare of a bird, warning him to leave Ardeth's shoulder untouched or suffer the consequences.

"He is my son first!" Suleimon objected in longsuffering exasperation.

Horus stuck his beak in the air and screeched at the king. Ardeth choked back a laugh, focusing on his food and letting the falcon and his father work things out. "This happens often," he told Rick, shaking his head slightly. "They keep on getting into fights over me—I don't dare try to interfere anymore."

"Smart move," Rick whispered out of the corner of his mouth. Terrence just watched in amusement as his older brother, King of the Med-jai, leader of the desert tribes, fought over his son with a one year old falcon. He shook his head, though in truth he had missed spending time with his family very much.

Ardeth just kept eating, trying very hard not to laugh. It was always very amusing to watch his father get stared down by a falcon.

Finally, Suleimon relented, muttering under his breath about having only lost the battle for the moment, throwing Horus a somewhat sulky glare.

Ardeth glanced at Rick out of the corner of his eye, barely containing his laughter. Ever since Horus had grown feathers, the bird had managed to win the weekly matches with the king about who had the rights to Ardeth's shoulder.

Rick returned the look before he had to bury his head in his plate of food to keep a straight face. He finished off the food quickly. "You know, you wouldn't think that a day or two of sleeping would make you build up such an appetite," he commented.

"We're making up for walking most of the way from Cairo to here," Ardeth told him, putting his own empty plate onto the ground.

"True," Rick said as he moved both plates to the side. He gave a satisfied sigh as he leaned back against the post.

"Amir? Would it be all right for us to go outside for a few hours?" Ardeth asked the healer, gently stroking Horus' feathers.

Amir didn't mind it so much, but he didn't want the prince walking with his injury so fresh either. He considered it for a moment. "I don't think you should be putting any weight on your leg, yet."

"We can bring him out there on a stretcher," Suleimon said, gesturing to himself and Dr. Bey.

Amir nodded, then fixed Ardeth with a firm gaze. "You will have to stay seated."

The boy sighed softly and nodded. "Very well." he agreed, not looking forward to the stretcher. He hoped that very few of the warriors were around to see this.

Suleimon saw this and chuckled. "Do not worry, my son, we will be very discreet." He and Dr. Bey helped move Ardeth onto a stretcher. After they got him situated, they took up either end to carry him out. Rick went ahead of them to ensure that no one was gathered around outside to see. Most of the people were still in their tents eating the midday meal. The others were all too far away and engaged in their various duties to take notice. Motioning that it was clear, Rick stood in front of the tent to block as much view as he could, seeming to gaze at the ruined city as Suleimon and Terrence moved the prince out to a resting place behind the tent. After the men came back, Rick walked behind the tent to join his friend.

Ardeth smiled at Rick from where he rested, looking slightly guilty but thrilled to be out of the tent. "Thank you, my friend."

"Any time," he replied with a smile. "So, let's see what he's got."

"Are you ready to show off, my friend?" Ardeth asked Horus. The bird stepped down onto the boy's arm, waiting to be launched into the air.

Ardeth threw the bird skywards, and with a triumphant scream, the falcon flew high over the desert, circling for a minute to get his bearings.


	19. Homeward Bound

Horus dove down suddenly, flying flush along the cliffside behind them, dodging outcroppings, gliding along the wall, and then soaring back out across the sea of shimmering sands.

"I am in the process of training Horus to deliver messages, but that takes time, since I have to teach him what people to deliver them to by introducing them and show him the entire desert."

"That would be time-consuming," Rick agreed, nodding as he watched Horus glide. "How much of the desert do you have to go?"

"About half of it. Although, they did cover a lot of territory coming here from home." Ardeth watched as the bird dove down and seized a small rabbit, bringing it over to where the two boys were.

Rick chuckled. "A training exercise or is Horus having his lunch now?"

"I think this is a gift," Ardeth said with a slight sigh, as the bird proudly dropped the slightly mangled carcass onto his lap. "Thank you, my friend," he told the bird.

Rick smiled. "His abilities are very impressive."

The bird flapped off quickly, and Ardeth stared at the carcass in his lap. "Well, this will be ideal for his mealtime later." Suddenly, the boy started smirking. "When he comes back, I'll have him demonstrate one of his favorite things—delivering unpleasant items to my father."

Rick looked at Ardeth with misgivings. “Are you sure that's such a good idea? He might not bring you back into the tent for the night."

"Amir won't let him leave me out. At least, not for a few more days." Ardeth glanced up at the bird and gave a few hand signals. Horus screeched in acknowledgement and started diving towards the boys. Ardeth tossed the carcass into the air, and Horus neatly caught it, wheeling to fly into the tent.

Rick braced himself, and soon, he heard a bellowing from the tent. "Ardeth!" He winced from the foreboding way that voice, like only a father's voice could, struck fear into his heart. He hadn't heard his father do that since he was little, but that sort of tone you never forgot. “Even eight years, later I remember that!” he said, cringing.

Ardeth sat still, snickering quietly. Horus flew from the tent to circle the camp, screeching now and then. "Don't worry, Rick. My father isn't really mad, although he will come storming out here in a minute acting all grumpy."

Rick laughed but quickly shied back a step or two when the sound of footsteps approached and the King of the Med-jai strode around the corner with Horus' gift in hand. Rick had to look down and bite his lip to hide the fact that he was laughing.

"Is something wrong, Father?" Ardeth asked brightly, wrinkling his nose when he saw what his father was carrying. "Why are you carrying Horus' supper around, Father? I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with feeding him."

Suleimon glared at his son, pretending to be upset. "One can hardly avoid it when he comes swooping down with a barrage of dead rodents in attack." He knelt by his son placing the rabbit on Ardeth's lap. "You failed to consider that the sound of your voices carry through the tent, my son. I've heard everything you've said."

The boy sighed. "I knew I was forgetting something," he lamented but was still smiling.

Suleimon nodded as if he had just taught his son a great moral lesson. “See to it that it doesn't happen again." Then, he smiled, shaking his head in amusement as he walked back towards the entrance of the tent.

As soon as Suleimon's back was turned, Ardeth chucked the rabbit at him and tugged Rick, careful not to aggravate his injuries, so that the American was between the father and son.

"Hey," Rick protested as Ardeth hid behind him. As the king turned and looked at him, he swallowed hard and pointed back at Ardeth. Suleimon grinned. "For every mischief you cause Ardeth, there will be more meals cooked by your cousins."

Ardeth's eyes widened, and he looked up at his father in true horror. "Father! I'm only playing jokes. That's no reason to poison me!"

Suleimon chuckled and cocked his head to one side. "It is your decision son." And with that, he strode back into the tent.

Sighing heavily, Ardeth lay down on the stretcher. "Well, there goes the rest of my plans for the next few days," he said mournfully.

Suddenly, the rabbit came flying back through the air at him from the other side of the tent, hitting him in the head.

Ardeth's eyes narrowed, and he glanced at Rick. "Did you see if that was my father?" he asked in a whisper, putting the rabbit aside for later.

"Yep," Rick said, not even bothering to contain his laughter any more.

Scowling, the boy motioned to Horus, who was still circling above them. With a few hand signals, he sent the bird to chase his father around the camp a few times.

Rick laughed as he settled down onto the sand next to his friend. "So, what mischief shall we play on your cousins when we reach your home?"

"Do you have any ideas? I was thinking of mixing up their face paint—changing the colors or something." Ardeth smiled in contentment as he heard Horus screech as he dive-bombed Suleimon.

"Sometimes, I leave lizards, or mice, or small birds in the drawers in the card catalog cabinets at the museum. We could try something like that," Rick suggested with an evil grin. "I'd say switch out their cooking ingredients, but that might not be in our best interests."

"No, that wouldn't—we'll be in enough danger of being poisoned as it is." Ardeth laughed as he saw his father being chased around in front of half the warriors who were there. "He's going to kill me for this."

"I thought we were supposed to be safe now that we aren't surrounded by red guards," Rick said, nudging him, careful of his injuries.

"Well, yes, but that would be rather awkward for everyone to deal with. They're supposed to defend me, but they're also supposed to obey Father. I think they'll just decide to stay out of it. Amir may get involved, though," Ardeth said, watching as his father tried desperately to snatch Horus out of the air.

Rick chuckled as they watched the scene. "Then, let's hope he can talk your dad down before he decides to have roasted falcon for dinner tonight."

Ardeth winced slightly at that. "Yes—well, Horus will go to the oasis in a minute and hide there for a few hours until Father can laugh about this."

"Yeah, but where will we hide?"

"Good question," Ardeth sighed as he looked down at his leg. "I can't exactly run anywhere. This part could be tricky."

"And I can't carry you."

Horus suddenly swooped back up into the sky, flying away to hide for a few hours. "Any ideas?" Ardeth asked, watching as his father caught his breath and then turned towards where the boys were.

Rick cast about looking around. There wasn't anything nearby to hide under. They couldn't run away. "Does Horus ever get out of control or fly off without your command?"

"He likes to play tricks on his own, yes, but he never gets out of control." Ardeth considered the edge of the tent next to them. "Maybe we can sneak back into there."

"The only way I can see us making that is if you grab onto my good leg with your good arm and I drag you. Otherwise, Amir might just help your dad hunt us down."

"Then, I guess I'm doomed." Ardeth said with a slight smile.

"Unless you were teaching me hand signals for Horus and I got it wrong?" Rick suggested.

"That would work. Here, let me show you some really fast before he gets here." Ardeth quickly began showing Rick the pertinent signals.

Rick performed the motions as he had seen Ardeth do just as Suleimon rounded the corner. The king stopped cold as he saw the way the American’s hands moving.

“Like that?” Rick asked after he finished the gesture.

Ardeth nodded. “Yes, that’s right. Those are how I tell Horus to attack a certain person or animal.” The boy looked up at his father. “Hello, Father! I’m teaching Rick the hand signals we train the hawks and falcons to respond to.”

The king eyed the two boys carefully for a moment before he spoke. "The next time you teach him any hand signals for Horus, be sure to tether your bird to something solid first."

"Yes, Father," Ardeth said obediently, glancing away in the direction Horus had gone. "Can I borrow your knife? I need to skin Horus' supper."

The king handed Ardeth his knife. "You can return it to me later. I need to speak with your uncle on certain matters." Then, Suleimon left the boys to speak to Terrence.

Ardeth looked over at Rick. "Thank you, my friend. You have prevented my untimely death once again," the boy said, absently pulling the rabbit into his lap to begin preparing it for Horus.

"Always. The necessity seems to arise on a pretty regular basis," Rick chuckled. He began to wonder if they would be doing that when they reached Ardeth's home. Somehow, he got the feeling that they would be doing a lot of that on down the road. "So, what is your home like?”

"It's absolutely beautiful. It's an oasis surrounded by mountains, hidden by Med-jai powers. It's . . . well, it's very difficult to describe. You'll see it soon, though," Ardeth promised.

Rick smiled at the thought. He wondered if, now that he was a Med-jai, this meant that it would become his home, too.

Amir emerged from around the tent and smiled down at the two boys. "Time for you two to come inside. I need to tend to your injuries again before you eat."

The king and Dr. Bey were behind him to carry Ardeth's stretcher in again. Once they were back inside, Amir began to work on Ardeth at Rick's insistence.

This time, since Ardeth was no longer in shock from everything, he had a harder time dealing with the pain. He never made a sound but kept on unconsciously trying to edge away from Amir.

Rick placed his hand over Ardeth's, half-worried that his hands were going to have permanent fingernail marks cut into them. Off to the side when the king was distracted by Dr. Bey, he did a smaller version of the hand sign Ardeth had taught him earlier, an amused grin on his face.

"When Horus comes back, I will have to teach you more signals," Ardeth told Rick, trying hard to focus on anything but what Amir was doing.

A few moments later, Amir finally finished, though it had felt as though it had taken much longer. Then, it was Rick's turn. He sat with a very concentrated look, remembering this time not to turn his head while Amir was cleaning out and repacking his shoulder.

Ardeth quietly described to him the proper technique to care for a shotgun while Amir worked, hoping to help Rick by keeping him distracted.

Rick listened to Ardeth's words, trying to picture the workings of the weapon in his mind. It wasn't as hard for him to focus on something else while Amir worked mainly because the hole in Rick shoulder wasn't quite as bad as the jagged tear in Ardeth's leg. But he did have to focus a good deal harder on his friend’s words than he had needed to the night before. It was then that Rick decided he didn't like being on the receiving end of bullets either.

Once Amir was done cleaning and bandaging their wounds, the boys were given plates full of food. Dr. Bey had cooked again and made certain that both boys got plenty to eat.

Rick was pleased to no end. "I will never be able to eat Father Duncan's cooking again!" he mumbled around the food that he was consuming.

"Uncle, can you come and teach my cousins how to cook, please? I'm tired of their attempts to poison me," Ardeth told the man as he finished his food.

Dr. Bey laughed. He hadn’t been there since they had started learning how to cook. He knew if he had been there at the time, Suleimon would have insisted that they had learned under Terrence’s tutelage. He began to laugh even harder when he looked over at his brother and found that even the king was nodding in agreement.

Ardeth looked up at his uncle, doing his best to look young and innocent. “Does this mean you’ll teach them?”

Dr. Bey shook his head amusedly, "It seems as though I have to with the overwhelming cry for help, but I don't know how much I will be able to teach them before I head back to Cairo."

"You could take them with you to Cairo!" the young Med-jai suggested immediately, thinking how nice it would be to be home and not have to deal with his cousins for a few weeks.

"Oh yes, that wouldn't draw attention to my arrival," Terrence commented wryly. "I left town by myself and return with a harem! No, I am sorry, nephew, but I will do what I can with them before I leave."

Ardeth sighed heavily, trying to think of some other way to get rid of his cousins. Now that he was full, though, he was falling asleep again. "When Horus gets in, will someone feed him?" the boy asked, struggling to keep his eyes open.

Suleimon remained stonily silent, not willing to feed Horus after how he had attacked him that afternoon. Terrence, who had watched the incident in question, tried to hide his smile as he took the rabbit Ardeth had prepared. "I will," he said. Suleimon eyed him as though his brother had just chosen the bird’s side over his own. Terrence only chuckled in reply before the king turned away in mock offense.

"Thank you, uncle. Goodnight!" Ardeth lay down, carefully turning so he was half on his side. His position wasn't enough to aggravate any of his wounds, so long as he didn't move, and much more comfortable than lying on his back.

Rick lay on his own sleep mat, though with the placement of his wounds it seemed impossible to get into a position where they didn’t scream at him. And this time, he didn't have exhaustion in his favor to override the signals his brain was getting. After a moment of seeing his struggle, Dr. Bey tossed him a pillow to prop his back up with. "Thank you," Rick said as he placed it in the middle of his back. Not long after that, he fell asleep as well.

Amir shook his head slightly in amusement. "You two better come up with some plan to keep those two occupied tomorrow, or they will undo any healing they've managed to accomplish thus far."

Dr. Bey and Suleimon both laughed at this. Amir was right. They could all tell it had taken a good deal of their self-control on the boys’ part not to aggravate their injuries, and they were beginning to get restless. A silent agreement passed between the two brothers—they would have to think of something by morning.

The days passed slowly. Each day it became increasingly harder for the adults to find tasks for Ardeth and Rick to do to keep them on the road to recovery. But as the days went by, their strength returned, and gradually, they began to be able to do more and more.

After almost a week, Amir declared the boys both strong enough for the journey to the Med-jai home so long as they didn't ride horses. Both boys weren't too happy about the news of having to go on stretchers, but it was exciting to be able to start toward home.

Rick eyed the stretcher with some concern. The litter was attached to the horse’s saddle with a harness which looked secure enough. But then as far as he could tell, it would drag in the sand as they traveled. As Ardeth joined him, Rick turned to him. "You sure I'm not going to fall out? The horse won't accidentally kick me, will he?" He was sure they knew how to transport their people through the desert, but there was just something unsettling about the idea of being dragged behind a horse.

Ardeth grinned at him. "No, you won't get kicked. Don't worry, Father knows what he is doing." The younger boy could walk now with someone helping him since a cane would do no good against the sand. Dr. Bey helped Ardeth into one of the litters and started strapping him in.

Rick saluted at Ardeth when Dr. Bey had finished and turned to him. "See you there," he said before Terrence took him over and secured him to his own stretcher. The man hid his smile. He could tell Rick was a little nervous about their method of traveling. Once Rick was secure, the group mounted and was traveling across the sand. Though O’Connell decided that being on the stretcher was worth it to see Hamunaptra shrinking away into the distance until it vanished from sight. He sighed in relief. It's over. It's finally over.

The horses carrying the litters stayed together, so Rick and Ardeth were able to talk during the journey. Horus did his best to keep them entertained, often bringing them presents or chasing the king around without prompting.

"At least your Dad can't blame this time on us," Rick said to Ardeth with a sly grin. "So, how long will it take us to get there?"

"Since we're going straight there, not quite a week. Hopefully we'll both be well enough to ride the horses by then," Ardeth said, face reddening at the thought of having to be carried into his home.

"Yeah, it’d be nice to experience riding a horse across the desert without someone's back blocking my view," Rick agreed.

Ardeth laughed. "Yes, that does tend to distract from enjoying the beauty of the desert. So does having to run behind horses."

"Yeah, no kidding." When they finally stopped for the day, Rick was glad to get up and stretch his legs. The wound he had garnered from the battle axe was almost completely healed, though inactivity for long periods of time caused it to stiffen up some. He walked over to Ardeth and offered him his better arm to help him to his feet.

Making it to his feet with Rick's help, Ardeth stretched as best as he could without loosing his balance. As the two boys slowly made their way to their tent, they saw one of the former temple guards coming out after having checked it for any poisonous creatures.

Rick froze for a split second as he looked up and saw the man. He kept his mouth shut as he waited to see how Ardeth would react to seeing him. The man was obviously affected by seeing the boys again and lowered his gaze to stare at the sand in shame, his expression grave.

"Did you find anything?" Ardeth asked quietly, voice reassuring. Most of the temple guards had been taught from birth to hate the Med-jai, and the prince wanted to make the transition easier.

The man shook his head, but it was a moment before he could find his voice. "I checked it three times but found nothing."

Rick saw the obvious fear in his posture and part of him wanted to lord it over him for what he and his men had done to them. But he knew as Ardeth did how much courage it took to turn your back on everything you knew to do what you believe is right. He forced himself to breathe, releasing his anger with his breath as he exhaled. As his compassion for this man began to win out, his expression softened somewhat.

"Thank you for checking," Ardeth told the man, wishing he had some way to help the former guard feel more at ease.

The guard could only nod his thanks, but Ardeth's words had given him a small measure of reassurance. He stepped out of their way allowing them to enter the tent.

Once they were inside, Ardeth gratefully sat down. "They are going to have a difficult time adjusting to life as a Med-jai."

Rick nodded in agreement. Making a transition like that couldn't be easy. He wondered how long it would take before the Med-jai felt they could trust them. How far would that trust go? "I can't imagine what that would be like. One day someone is your enemy, the next you're fighting side by side with them. That's got to throw you for a loop."

"Yes, it does," Ardeth murmured, thinking about Kasim again. Just then, Amir came in to check up on their injuries again.

As Amir cleaned their wounds, he was pleased to see them progressing. "You wounds are healing very well, Your Majesty," he said as he worked on Ardeth's leg.

Ardeth smiled at the man. "Thanks to your care, Amir."

Amir smiled back. "You're welcome." Before long, he had finished with both Ardeth's and Rick's wounds and was very satisfied with how well they were mending. Afterwards, they ate dinner. Once they had finished, Rick cleaned his guns as he and Ardeth compared past adventures.

"When I was about five, I overheard some of the warriors talking about a great sport that they heard some people participated in. It was to ride inside a barrel over a waterfall." Ardeth shook his head. "I decided I wanted to try it. I found an old barrel and brought it to the top of a waterfall—it took me several weeks to do that. Then, one morning, I decided that it was time to try it."

Rick cringed at the situation when he heard Ardeth say the words "old" and "barrel" together in a sentence with the word “waterfall”. He had never seen a waterfall in person, but he gathered from the pictures he’d seen and what he had heard of them that this story would not end well. He nodded for the prince to continue.

"Sealing myself into the barrel ended up being a little tricky, but there were enough holes in it that I managed." The boy looked up as his father and uncle came into the tent. "Then I realized that I was stuck in a barrel right next to the river and didn't have any way to get into the water."

Suleimon let out a groan that told everyone he knew exactly what tale Ardeth was telling and obviously did not have fond memories of that day. Rick laughed both at Ardeth's description and the king's reaction.

Ardeth laughed softly at his father's grumbling. "By throwing my weight around, I managed to knock the barrel over and roll it into the river where the current took me. I think it was around that point that someone in the city realized I was missing."

"Thank heavens," the king muttered, shaking his head. Terrence was smiling broadly, nodding. He remembered that day, too. It had been shortly before he had left for Cairo.

"Whoever was up in the mountains on lookout that day somehow spotted the barrel I was in and sent a message to Father. Fortunately, I had gone into the river a good ways back from the waterfall, but the current was pretty fast. I got banged around a lot inside the barrel, so I don't really remember much of what happened after that."

"I do," Dr. Bey said as he shook his head mournfully. "When you were finally fished out of the river and we found you were alright, your father’s yelling could be heard across the city. No one slept well that night,” he said, grimacing. Rick was laughing so hard, tears were rolling down his cheeks, especially when he saw the stern expression on Suleimon’s face.

Ardeth grinned innocently up at the king, then turned back to his uncle. “So, did I actually go down the waterfall in the barrel? I’ve been wondering for years if I made it or not.”

"Oh, you got down there alright," Terrence assured him. "The barrel however hit a rock and shattered. Fortunately, it hit the side otherwise you might have been impaled."

"Who rescued me?" Ardeth asked curiously, absently wondering just how he had managed to survive until now.

"I did," Terrence said. "You were fortunate that I was revisiting all the areas of my home before I left for Cairo. You had just been sucked under the current and trapped there." Dr. Bey shuddered at the terror he had felt when he thought in those few short minutes that his nephew was about to drown right before his eyes.

Glancing at his father, the boy put his hand on Suleimon's arm when he saw that the king was looking very grim. "Is that why you never let me go near the northeast waterfall?"

He nodded. "You are all I have left." He drew a deep breath and pulled his son closer to him.

Hugging his father back, Ardeth stayed in the king's arms for several minutes. Shifting slightly as his leg started cramping from the position, Ardeth eased back a little.

Suleimon released his grip on Ardeth and let him resituate. "I suppose that is the danger I face since you are so much like I was at your age."

Carefully stretching out, Ardeth snagged Rick's good leg and tugged him closer so that they were both facing his father. "Tell us about one of your adventures when you were young!"


	20. Lingering Scars

Suleimon looked over at Terrence slyly. Dr. Terrence seemed to stiffen somewhat. "No, don't you dare!" the curator started. An evil glint lit the king's eye. He turned to the two boys.

"One time your uncle and I decided it would be interesting to hunt for scarabs while we were patrolling Hamunaptra." Dr. Bey shook his head irritably and glared at his brother.

Ardeth's eyes widened. "You didn't go into the forbidden areas!"

"At the time, we were young, brave, foolish. Not unlike another two boys I know." Here, he grinned at Rick and Ardeth. "We had never seen scarabs or what they were capable of and thought that the stories were told simply to scare us." The king shook his head in wonder. "We were beyond fortunate that neither we nor anyone who came to rescue us were killed."

"Were there fewer mummy attacks and other problems when you were young?" Ardeth asked quietly, thinking about the many attacks and other problems that the Med-jai had been forced to deal with in the past several years.

Suleimon shook his head. "Those problems have always been present, but in recent years, the temple guard cult seems to be gaining both in strength and numbers. Because of this, the number of these attacks has increased in frequency with their renewed attempts to take the city. So when Terrence and I were boys, yes, they did occur less often."

"I wish there was some way to stop the temple guards. They don't know what they're trying to do."

"So do I, Ardeth," Suleimon said gravely. "So do I."

Rick watched them carefully, feeling like he should leave. At a motion from Dr. Bey, he discreetly rose and followed the curator outside. Suleimon looked at his son, waiting for him to speak, knowing he would when he was ready.

"I killed several temple guards, Father. In Cairo when they attacked in the streets and in the museum. And I killed Alack-nah. How do I bear this, Father? I took human lives!"

"My son," the king began sadly, "our calling is a difficult one. I know you well enough to know that you neither took these lives quickly nor out of malice. You were protecting someone or many. And I also know that you gave each man one or more chances to surrender and live. It must never be easy to take a life, even out of necessity. And I am afraid it will never get easier, nor should it. But you did the right thing and, by it, saved more lives than were taken. If it had not been for you, the eight red guards would have perished, as would O'Connell and possibly even Terrence. If they had raised the mummies in the museum, not one in Cairo would have been left alive." He raised his son's chin. "You still have a good heart, Ardeth. You would not be in such great pain if you did not.”

Ardeth closed his eyes tightly as he lost the battle against the tears he had managed to keep at bay the entire ordeal. Not even when they had been rescued had he allowed himself to cry, but now the fourteen year old couldn't hold it in any longer.

The king cradled his son gently against his chest, his arms forming a safe refuge around Ardeth. Everything around them melted away until there was nothing but the two of them.

After several long minutes, Ardeth had cried himself out and shifted a little against Suleimon's chest, utterly humiliated at his breakdown.

The king smiled reassuringly at his son. "I am proud of you, Ardeth. You're mother would be as well."

"Thank you, Father." Ardeth's voice was rough, and he reached for the teapot cooling near the fire.

Suleimon reached over to his bedroll and pulled out a golden scimitar with a jewel-encrusted hilt. It shimmered brilliantly in the firelight. "I want you to have Beset—it is time for you to bear her."

Ardeth looked at the scimitar with wide eyes, then back at Suleimon. "But Father—I'm not of age yet."

The king smiled. "You have more than earned her. You have achieved great wisdom, skill, and strength before your time. You are ready. My father gave Beset to me when I came of age, and now I give it to you."

Reverently, the boy accepted the scimitar with both hands, arms drooping a little because of the weight of the weapon. "I accept this symbol of duty I will fulfill," the young Med-jai promised solemnly.

Suleimon nodded in acknowledgement, according to Med-jai tradition. He beamed proudly as he watched Ardeth examine the sword. Hadiya, he called silently to his wife, I wish you could see our son now.

Ardeth carefully pulled his old scimitar out of his belt and laid it on the cloth beside himself. Then, the boy slid the ceremonial, adult scimitar into his belt, looking up at his father for approval.

Suleimon nodded, smiling. "Very good, my son. It suits you well."

Practically glowing at the compliment, Ardeth completely forgot that he was injured and went to jump up to run and show Rick.

Suleimon's quick reflexes caught Ardeth's arm before he could put too much weight on his injured leg, steadying his son. Carefully placing his arm around Ardeth's shoulder, he helped Ardeth out of the tent to go show Rick. Rick and Dr. Bey stood about ten yards away, looking out and the desert and the stars in the sky.

"Rick!" Ardeth called his friend, so excited that he started explaining everything to his friend in a jumble of languages, including English, Arabic, and Ancient Egyptian.

Rick spun around, a little confused at his friend's usages of multiple languages. Then, he grinned broadly as he saw the overjoyed expression on his face. "Hey, buddy." Dr. Bey laughed merrily. He'd never seen his nephew so excited.

Giving up on using words to explain, Ardeth carefully pulled the scimitar out of his belt, showing it to his friend and his uncle.

Rick held the scimitar in awe. "Whoa," he breathed, holding the blade up to reflect the moonlight. "That's incredible." He handed the scimitar carefully back to his friend. "Where'd you get it?"

Finally calming down enough to speak only in English, the boy smiled up at his father who was supporting him carefully. "Father gave it to me. She is an heirloom of our family."

"Wow," Rick said, smiling. He knew the kind of importance this held for Ardeth. His smile widened mischievously. "Once we're healed up enough, we should have another duel."

Ardeth grinned right back at him. "Certainly. It will be great fun to work with you on your form."

Rick chuckled as he looked at his friend. He could see it now, Ardeth standing proudly in his Med-jai robes alone on the dunes, his jeweled scimitar glittering under the desert sun. A king of his people in every respect, and even now under the moon light, even leaning heavily on his father for support, he looked it.

Ardeth looked between his uncle and father innocently, trying not to smile at their confusion. "Rick and I dueled the first day we met—it was quite fun."

Dr. Bey's eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Was this before or after you found your way to the museum?"

Exchanging a glance with Rick, Ardeth shrugged slightly. "After," he admitted, refusing to look guilty.

Dr. Bey loomed up over the two boys, seeming to reach a new height. "And how many artifacts did you two... gentlemen.... destroy in the process?"

Ardeth crossed his arms, doing his best to look dignified and regal. "None, uncle. I would think you would have noticed if anything had been broken, seeing as we stayed in your office for quite a while."

“My office?” Dr. Bey said, advancing. Even the king was cringing under Terrence’s wrath.

“How do we get out of here?” Rick whispered over to Ardeth.

Acting quickly, Ardeth shoved his father into his uncle’s path, grabbed Rick’s arm, and started hurrying away as quickly as he could. “Amir! Amir!” he yelled, hoping that the healer would be angry enough at the thought of his hard work being undone to defend the two boys.

Amir came running out at the sound of Ardeth's raised voice. He took in the situation in one glance and moved to stand between the two boys and the fuming curator. "Oh, no you don't!" Amir insisted. "You are not going to ruin over a week’s worth of my labors!"

Ardeth stopped trying to run, breathing heavily from the exertion. "Are you all right, Rick?" he whispered, turning to watch Amir facing down Dr. Bey.

"Yeah," he said, but he was still glancing over at Terrence. "He can be pretty frightening when he's upset."

"Yes, he can be. Let's see if we can get back into the tent without him noticing. Amir will convince him that hurting us is a very bad idea."

Rick helped Ardeth back over to the tent. Once they were inside, they could still hear Amir and Dr. Bey arguing and the king laughing at the whole situation. Rick smiled. “Well, at least your dad seems to think this is amusing,” he chuckled as he lowered Ardeth to sit on his mat.

"Yes—if Father thinks this is funny, then he will help keep Uncle Terrence from hurting us." Ardeth sighed in relief once he was sitting—he had definitely overdone it tonight.

"You gonna be okay?" Rick asked, seeing the strain on Ardeth's face.

The boy nodded, pulling off his robes and neatly laying them aside. Then, carefully, he rolled up the baggy pants to examine the bandage wrapped around his leg and sighed when he realized there was fresh blood staining it.

"Oh, man," Rick groaned as he saw it. "I don't know who Amir will kill first, you or Dr. Bey." Rick rose to call Amir into the tent.

With a heavy sigh, the boy pulled his new scimitar out of his belt and reverently laid it next to himself. "Let's not tell Amir yet—it can wait until morning," Ardeth told Rick, looking hopefully up at the older boy.

Rick looked at Ardeth, uncertain. "You're the one who said you want to be riding by the time we reach home. So if you can tell me that with your wound reopened, that it will still heal in time, then I won't call Amir."

Sighing again, the boy gave in. "I guess Amir should be told. Curses, this won't be fun."

Rick looked at his friend sadly. "I know." Then after a moment, he called Amir in. "But at least your uncle can't kill us now,” he said, trying to find something positive in this. He was sitting by Ardeth, planning to help him through this, by the time all three adults got back into the tent. He cringed, bracing himself for the lecture he knew they were about to get.

"I think I did a little too much tonight, Amir," Ardeth told the man, gingerly indicating his leg.

Suleimon, Terrence, and Amir all sighed heavily as they saw the fresh blood. Amir shook his head, anger rising to his face. At first, he looked as though he were about to lay into the prince, but he whirled on the curator instead.

"Brilliant, doctor, now look what you've done!"

At that, Ardeth exchanged wide-eyed glances with Rick. This, the boy decided, was much better than receiving glares and lectures himself.

Terrence began arguing with Amir again before Rick finally called out to them.

"Hey! Do you think you two can finish that later, after Ardeth's been patched up?"

Amir immediately turned away from Terrence and knelt next to Ardeth. He worked quickly, hands gentle, but kept on sending furious glares over at Dr. Bey. Suleimon and the two boys all kept very quiet, not wanting to attract any attention.

Once he was done, he and Dr. Bey went outside to continue the argument. By that time, Rick couldn't hold his laughter in any longer. Suleimon shook his head in amazement. "You two must lead a very charmed existence. And now, I have to go rescue my brother." He stepped out of the tent.

"Well, that went much better than I expected," Ardeth murmured, shaking his head. "How is your arm? I didn't wrench it when we tried to get away from my uncle, did I?"

"Nah," Rick said shaking his head. "So, that's a pretty awesome blade you have there," he said, taking a closer look at it.

Carefully picking up the scimitar, Ardeth let his friend hold it. "Each Med-jai family has heirlooms that are passed down to each new generation, usually when the firstborn son comes of age."

"How old is "of age'?"

"Usually, it's sixteen." Ardeth indicated the tattoos on his face. "We also get these marks when we're sixteen, unless there's some reason to get them early."

"And you’re not sixteen?" Rick guessed, though he really wasn't surprised.

"I'm only just fourteen," Ardeth told him with a slight sigh. "Because of my status, I started guard duty early, and because of that, the elders decided that I've earned the right to get my marks early."

Rick smiled knowingly. "But this is different." It was more of a statement than a question.

"The scimitar? Yes, it is." Ardeth traced his fingers lightly over the jewels and markings on the hilt. "Only the head of the family can decide when to turn over the family scimitar to his chosen successor. Almost always, he gives it to his firstborn son after his son's first battle after he has begun the sacred duty. For Father to entrust her to me when I am so young is a tremendous honor."

Rick's smile broadened. He was excited for his friend, glad that his father had done this. This mark of trust and responsibility would probably help to ease the pain and doubts Rick knew his friend must be having after their ordeal. "Congratulations! That’s wonderful!"

Ardeth grinned widely at him. "Yes—I'm really happy about it. Although, it will take a bit of practice to get used to, since Beset is so much bigger and heavier than my old scimitar."

"Not too much practice," Rick said, remembering their duel. "You seemed to do just fine with your uncle's."

"That was before all of this," Ardeth said, indicating his injuries. "Now, I will be horribly out of shape by the time Amir allows me to do anything."

Rick laughed, cocking his head to one side. "You'll do just fine. "You deserve this."

Ardeth put a hand on Rick's good shoulder. "Thank you, my friend." Then, he lay back. "Let's get to sleep before they come back, just in case Amir decides we need a lecture too."

"Good idea," Rick agreed. He helped Ardeth get situated, then rolled out his mat next to Ardeth's. After exerting themselves in their attempt to escape Dr. Bey, it didn't take long before they fell asleep.

Rick's gasp broke the silence as he sat stark upright. He sat panting, looking around, trying to get a handle on the situation. It was the middle of the night, and he was in the tent on his sleep mat, drenched in his own sweat. He closed his eyes and tried to catch his breath, forcing his body to relax and his heart to slow. He placed his head in his hands and drew his knees up to his chest trying to ward off the fear that threatened to overwhelm him.

Beside him, Ardeth stirred and sat up. "Rick? What's wrong, my friend?" the boy asked, cautiously resting a hand on the other boy's back.

Rick shook his head, unable to speak for a moment. "The nightmare," he said shakily when he found his breath again. "Again," he hissed in frustration. "What is happening? We're not at Hamunaptra anymore. We're safe! Why? Why am I still having this dream?" His voice was quiet, but Ardeth could hear the fear in his tone.

"I don't know, Rick. My assumption is that your destiny is tied up with Hamunaptra. In the morning, I will talk to my father, and see if there is any way that I can ward your dreams and prevent the Creature from disturbing your sleep."

Rick groaned at first when Ardeth mentioned his future still being linked to the City of the Dead. He wanted to deny it, but somehow, he got the sinking feeling that Ardeth was right. Finally, he nodded wearily. He was embarrassed about the fear these nightmares brought him and didn’t really want to tell Suleimon. But at this point, he was willing to try anything to make the voice he heard to go away. “Okay. Thank you.”

Ardeth smiled reassuringly at his friend. “Lay down,” he ordered quietly, easing back himself. Then, very carefully rolling onto his side, he put a hand on Rick’s forehead, willing the nightmares to stay away for the rest of the night. “Sleep, my friend.”

Rick lay down and, at Ardeth's words, immediately went to sleep, but this time, peacefully. As the prince watched his reaction, he could see his friend's features slowly relax. Rick's fists finally unclenched, and his troubled face smoothed over as he slept without dreams.

Keeping his hand on Rick's forehead, Ardeth went back to sleep himself. In the morning, when the adults woke up, they found the boys asleep like that.

Suleimon and Terrence exchanged a meaningful glance, and at Amir's questioning gaze, they explained. "Suleimon did this to me when I could not sleep well," Dr. Bey said quietly so as not to awaken the boys.

Amir sighed softly. "Those two have been through much more than they should have to bear. Well. Come get me when they wake up, so I can check over their wounds."

They nodded, and Amir walked out of the tent. Dr. Bey shook his head looking at his nephew fondly. "He is so like his father." Here, he smiled at Suleimon as he sat down to prepare breakfast.

"Amir is right," the king sighed sadly. "They have both suffered much."

Dr. Bey nodded in agreement, then said, "At least we can provide a pleasant atmosphere when they wake."

Suleimon eyed his brother suspiciously. "What are you planning?" he asked cautiously, smiling down at the boys before moving to sit next to Terrence.

"Actually, I was just referring to making breakfast for them, but after the trouble they got me in with Amir last night, I'm up for a little scheming. " He turned to his brother with a particularly evil glint in his eye. "Any ideas?"

Suleimon laughed quietly, smiling. "Well, we would have to clear it with Amir, but both boys are in definite need of a bath. If we bring them down to the oasis, we can toss them in."

"Why that's positively evil!" Terrence said as if he was shocked, and then he smiled wickedly. "Let's do it."

"I'll go talk with Amir about it. You can get food for them," Suleimon said, standing up and glancing over at the boys once again before slipping out of the tent.

The food was almost ready by the time Suleimon returned. Dr. Bey looked up from where he sat by the small cooking fire he had constructed. "Well?"

Suleimon smiled, looking very satisfied. "As long as we are careful with their injuries and bring them straight to him for tending afterwards, he practically begged us to do this."

Dr. Bey rose, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Shall we, my dear brother?"

"After you, my brother," Suleimon swept his arm out, letting Terrence go ahead of him.

Since the boy's were somewhat overlapping, Dr. Bey grabbed one end of Rick's and Ardeth's sleep mats while Suleimon took the other. They slowly dragged the two boys over the sand to the oasis, careful not to wake them.

The warriors of the camp, just starting to get ready for the day, all stopped what they were doing to watch their king at work. About halfway there, Ardeth started to stir, since his injured leg was getting bumped around some.

Both adults froze, hoping Ardeth would settle back down again.

The boy let go of Rick and rolled onto his other side, pulling his injured leg up to his chest and wrapping his arms around it, subconsciously trying to ease the ache.

Once he had stopped moving for a while, the king and his brother completed the distance to the beach. Dr. Bey looked at the two sleeping boys, and then looked at his brother for some indication as to how they were going to do this.

Suleimon stepped away from the boys, so that their voices wouldn't disturb them. "We'll have to carry them—if you get Rick, I'll get Ardeth."

Dr. Terrence nodded, picking up the American while Suleimon picked up his son. The curator looked to the king for the signal.

The king nodded to his brother, then bolted across the sand to the oasis, to the cheers of the warriors. Ardeth woke up immediately, completely bewildered, trying to figure out what was going on. But suddenly, he was flying through the air. Both he and Rick landed with a splash in the deep cold pool.

Ardeth shot to the surface automatically, glad he wasn't in his heavy robes, and flung his hair back out of his face. With a half-hearted glare at his father, the boy turned to make certain that Rick was alright. But Rick was floating face-down in the water, not moving. Nearly panicking, Ardeth grabbed Rick's shoulders and pulled him upright, smacking him on the back to get any water out of his lungs. "Rick?"

But Rick made a small signal with his hands that only Ardeth could see that he was okay. But other than that, he did not move or respond. The moment he had awakened to see the blue water rushing up to meet him, he had known what was happening. I'll show them! he thought. And he had immediately gone limp to make it seem as though he were still unconscious. He was waiting for Dr. Bey to run over in concern so he could drag him under the water.

"Father! Uncle! Help me, quickly!" Ardeth yelled, making it look like he was having a great deal of difficulty keeping Rick's head above the water.

Dr. Bey and Suleimon looked at each other, horrified that their plan had gone so wrong. They both ran over as fast as they could through the water to where Ardeth held Rick's prone body. As he heard them coming over, Rick subtly planted his feet in the sand at the bottom of the pool. This would be easier to do on dry land, but he anchored his weight so that, as Dr. Bey reached his side, he was able to grab the curator and half-pull, half-drag him down into the water, going down with him in the process. O'Connell came up cackling wickedly. "That'll teach you!" he declared smugly.

Ardeth, now that he wasn't trying to hold up Rick, was floating on his back, letting the cool water soothe the ache in his injuries. He grinned at Rick, pleased that they had managed to turn things around on their attackers.

Rick joined the prince merrily swimming along as the curator came sputtering up from the water and began splashing the boys. Then, he turned on his brother, splashing him too.

Suleimon promptly returned the water wave, and soon, an all-out war was going on. A few of the braver Med-jai chanced the waters to try to 'rescue' the king but discovered that it was every man for himself.

After a while, the war died down, and the adults went off to change their robes while the boys relaxed in the water. Rick massaged his stiff muscles, especially around his injuries to get them to loosen up. His shoulder was particularly tight, but he only carefully rubbed that area, trying not to reopen it.

"Is your shoulder bothering you?" Ardeth asked, from where he was trying to get his hair clean in the shallows. He was sitting in the water, letting his injured leg float, enjoying the lack of strain.

"No more than usual, but I figure that's typical of being shot. I'm just not sure when it would be safe to start stretching it without tearing it open."

"We'll ask Amir in a few minutes. In the meantime, want some soap?" Ardeth asked, holding up the bar of soap he had just finished using.

"Pfft!" Rick scoffed. "Soap! What would I want to use that for?" He grinned, looking at Ardeth out of the corner of his eye.

Laughing, Ardeth chucked the soap at Rick. "I think the fact that they dumped us in here, and Amir didn't stop them, is a hint that we're starting to smell."

Rick barely caught the soap before it hit him in the face. "So?" he asked, pretending not to get the point. "The smell probably helps to clear out their nasal passages once in a while."

Ardeth winced at that. "Oh, I did not need that image. Fine, you stay dirty—but I would rather not be compared to Alack-nah!"

Rick straightened. "Well, if you're going to put it like that—" And he began to bathe, using the soap liberally. Rick didn't particularly like being dirty either, but he did like to give Ardeth a hard time about it.


	21. Revenge of the Med-jai

"Did you sleep well after your nightmare? That is, until the rather rude awakening this morning?" Ardeth asked, rinsing out his hair and sighing in pleasure at being clean again.

Rick stopped lathering for a second. "Yeah," he said quietly as he looked up at Ardeth. "Thanks." He stood still in the water, staring into its depths as he remembered the nightmare and what Ardeth had said.

"Good. I'll talk to Father later about warding your dreams," Ardeth promised, then sighed as he realized that he ought to get up.

Rick nodded, finished lathering, and rinsed thoroughly. "Need a hand?" he offered once he was done.

"Yes, please." Ardeth grimaced at the ache in his leg. "I wonder why my leg is so sore this morning—it didn't hurt this badly last night."

"Well, you did just get tossed into a lake. Did you land on your leg?" Rick asked as he pulled Ardeth to his feet and helped him walk over to shore where some dry towels had been laid out on a blanket for them.

"No, thankfully. Although I did put more weight on it than I should have when I thought you were drowning."

"Oh great! Okay, that's the last time I pull that stunt!" Rick groaned as he shook his head, frustrated with himself. Rick lowered Ardeth down onto the blanket, handing him one towel and then picking up the other for himself. As they dried themselves off, Amir told them that their breakfast and a change of clothes were waiting for them in the tent.

"I'm not sure I can walk that far right now," Ardeth admitted, eyeing the tent, which was quite a ways away.

Amir nodded gravely and ran off to bring the clothes and food to the boys. Rick sat down on the blanket next Ardeth, using the towel to dry his hair which was somewhat poofy since it was so short.

"I like your hair," the younger boy commented, wringing out his own hair and grinning at Rick.

Rick walked over to the water, groaning. "Is it sticking up again?" he asked as he checked his reflection. Grimacing at what he saw, he immediately wet his hair down again so it wasn't standing on end.

"So, any ideas about how to get my father and uncle back for this?"

"Oh, I don't know, I thought we already had by taking them down with us," he chuckled as he finished and walked back over to the blanket. "But I am open to suggestions."

"Oh, I don't know—I'm certain I'll come up with something," Ardeth looked up and smiled when he saw Amir, Suleimon, and Terrence coming. The adults were carrying food and clothing.

Rick smiled and stood to his feet, taking the plates from Dr. Bey, being sure to say thank you since the doctor had made them food even though he had pulled him into the lake. He handed one plate to Ardeth and set his own down, changing into the dry clothes before he sat down to eat.

Not bothering to change yet, Ardeth just started eating. "So, was that a not-so-subtle hint?" he asked his father around bites of the excellent food.

"See, Terrence, I told you he would get the message this way," Suleimon told Dr. Bey, teasing his son.

"I see even young Mr. O'Connell got the message after he nearly drowned me," Dr. Bey said pointedly, glaring at Rick. Rick just kept shoveling food into his mouth to keep from laughing.

"I thought you were trying to drown us!" Ardeth immediately put in. "After all, dumping someone who is sound asleep into deep water?"

"You two are both light sleepers and extremely intelligent, resourceful lads," Dr. Bey told him. "We knew you'd manage."

Rolling his eyes, the young Med-jai finished his food, then considered the clean clothing. Shrugging, he pulled on the shirt, but left the pants for now.

Every once in a while, Ardeth noticed Rick’s hand would go to his hair to make sure it wasn't poofing up again. Rick finished the food and lay back on the blanket, looking up at the sky that was sparsely dotted with clouds.

"Father, would you help me up so I can get changed?" Ardeth asked after several minutes—the wet pants and bandages were rather uncomfortable.

Suleimon helped his son to his feet and then supported his weight as he changed into the clean pair of pants. The robes that had been provided for the boys were very loose fitting and comfortable. This way they could sit in the dry clothes as Amir tended to their wounds. Rick went first, slipping one shoulder out of the sleeve for Amir as he looked at the rest of his clothing. He looked over at Ardeth. "So, how do I look as a Med-jai?"

Ardeth considered the outfit and nodded gravely. "It fits you quite well, my friend," he told Rick, relaxing once he was sitting on the sand again.

Rick grinned until he sucked in his breath in pain as Amir tugged at the wound. He looked over at the healer who was looking gravely down at the wound. Rick knew that look well enough not to like it. "What is it?"

"A small pocket of infection," Amir answered. "It looks like it just started up. Fortunately, we caught it early." Amir looked at Rick seriously. "I have to clean it out, and it will hurt.”

Rick chuckled wryly. Of course it will, he thought, but he nodded to Amir and braced himself.

As Amir worked, being as thorough and gentle as possible, Ardeth scooted closer to Rick. He glanced between Rick and his father, then shrugged slightly. "Father, do you know of any way to ward dreams against the Creature?"

Suleimon glanced between the two boys, and then it dawned on him. He didn't even need to look at Terrence to know he was thinking the same thing. So, that's why his hand was on O'Connell's forehead this morning. "I do not, but one of the healers of our tribe does. It has been hers to keep such sacred arts. If you wish, we may visit her when we reach home."

"All right. Thank you, Father," Ardeth turned his attention back to Rick, glad to see that Amir was nearly done.

"We do have the charms that can banish dreams for one night," Amir offered as he finished tying the bandage. "It would have to be performed each night before you go to sleep, but it would hold you over until we reach home and give you the more permanent solution." Rick looked down, still embarrassed that these dreams frightened him so badly.

"That would be excellent. The Creature is invading Rick's dreams and has been for several years. This needs to be stopped," Ardeth told the adults firmly.

Rick cringed expecting them to laugh at him, but when he finally worked up the courage to look up, he saw the adults looking at him in dark understanding. Even the king's face was grim. "What?" Rick asked, confused.

"Med-jai often are subjected to nightmares sent from the Creature. He tries to break us, to force us to free him. It is a difficult burden you have had to bear, young O'Connell," Suleimon told Rick, sympathetic.

Rick stared at them for a moment, amazed to learn that he wasn't alone. As he locked gazes with each of them in turn, he could see that they knew what he was going through and didn't think any less of him for being afraid. The feeling of acceptance at that moment comforted him in a way that he had never felt before.

Ardeth smiled widely at Rick. "Do you feel better now?" the boy asked, knowing that his father almost always knew exactly what to say to help someone feel better.

Rick nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. He had never told anyone about this before he had told Ardeth, not even Father Duncan. And even if he did half to suffer through that dream again, it gave him great peace of mind to know that he didn't have to bear that burden alone anymore.

“Excellent—as soon as we get home, I will talk to healers and make certain that your dreams are warded,” Ardeth promised and rolled his pant leg up without prompting when Amir moved over to him. Both Suleimon and Terrence winced when they saw the boy’s leg—it looked worse than it had in a while because of the strain from the night before and the abuse of being dragged that morning.

Amir worked quickly, pouring a slightly larger amount of salve onto the wound than usual to encourage it to start mending again. Rick watched the process as Dr. Bey helped him carefully slide his arm back into the sleeve of his robe.

Once Amir was done, he briskly put his things away and stood. "You two stay here until it is time to go. I will send someone to bring the horses over to you. Until you've both recovered more, I want less activity again. Understand?" The healer's firm gaze pinned both boys until they nodded, then he strode off.

Rick let himself flop back onto the blanket, groaning in exasperation. "Not again," he muttered under his breath. He turned his head slightly to look at his shoulder. "Come on! Heal already!"

Ardeth scowled at his leg, then transferred that scowl to his father and uncle. "What did you two do to my leg?" he demanded imperiously, fixing them with his best foreboding glare. "It wasn't this bad last night, even after I tried to stand on my own or after I tried to run. So, what did you do?"

"We dragged your sleeping mats down to the oasis, that's all," Suleimon said as he looked confused at Dr. Bey. Neither of them had expected that to cause his injuries to regress.

The boy sighed and rolled his eyes. "You didn't notice that I was lying on my side with my injured leg against the ground?" He glanced over at Rick. "We need to come up with something to do today, since we're on restricted movement, again!"

Rick nodded in full agreement. But the adults simply shrugged. As long as it would keep them from moving around too much, they really mind. "Come brother. Let us give these two desert imps some time to scheme," Dr. Bey said, standing.

Rick scooted closer to the prince once the adults took the empty plates and walked off. "So any ideas?"

Ardeth was running his fingers through his hair, trying to unsnarl the knots. "Do you see Horus anywhere?" he asked, studying the sky for the bird. "I need to comb this out before it needs to be cut."

Rick looked for a moment before catching sight of him and pointing. "Look, there!" Horus was flying in lazy circles on an updraft of air.

Whistling shrilly, Ardeth caught the bird's attention and gave a few signals. With a piercing scream, Horus stooped into a dive just as Suleimon left the tent, carrying his personal gear. With another screech, the bird snatched the case holding the king's comb and shaving equipment, batting a wing playfully in Suleimon's face before flying over to Ardeth.

Rick shook his head, laughing. "Aren't you afraid your dad's going to kill him someday?"

“If Father killed Horus, he would have to answer to his own falcon—Horus' mother. I don't think that would go very well." Ardeth dug out the comb and started working on his hair. “Other than sending Horus to pester Father and Uncle Terrence, I don't really have any ideas. It would be fun to loosen the buckles on their saddles, but that involves walking."

Rick thought about it for a moment, then grinned. “Well, we can't walk, but maybe we can find someone to do it for us. That way they'd never suspect us for doing it," he said as he searched through his old clothes to make sure he didn't leave anything behind. Finding his penknife, a small metal box and his cloth to clean his guns with, he stashed them away in the pocket of his robes. He would have to make sure someone collected his guns for him from the tent before they left.

"That might work," Ardeth murmured and glanced up at Horus. "My friend, see if you can find some people who are done with their preparations to leave and can keep secrets. We need to get some help to go after my father and uncle," he told the bird. Horus cheeped and flew off, looking quite smug as he circled Suleimon once before searching the camp.

Rick chuckled to see Horus return shortly with the Med-jai ally who had helped them with the red guards. "Yeah, I'd say he definitely qualifies."

Ardeth grinned widely at the man. "My good warrior! Would you be so kind as to help the two of us achieve success in a covert mission?" the boy asked as Horus landed on his shoulder and started trying to help out with his hair.

"I will help Your Majesty however I can," he said impassively, though his eyes seemed to show that he had some idea of the type of 'covert mission' they had in mind. Or at least, he was able to guess from the spectacle with the king and his brother this morning.

"Excellent!" Ardeth turned to grin at Rick, wincing as Horus' beak snagged on a knot in his hair. "While Horus distracts my father and uncle, they won't be paying attention to their horses. If you could loosen the buckles, that would be perfect—they won't suspect you, they'll blame us, but since we're both confined to the blanket, we'll have an alibi."

The Med-jai laughed quietly at the suggestion before giving a small bow. "As you wish, my prince." Then, he walked off to fulfill his task. Rick smiled at how calmly he seemed to go about his business, knowing the kind of practice he'd had in remaining inconspicuous. "I think he's enjoying this," he commented to Ardeth.

"It's not every day that you're given permission to prank the king of the Med-jai," Ardeth said gravely and sent Horus off to distract the king. Once the bird was gone, Ardeth quickly focused on combing his hair. "If Horus keeps on trying to help, this will take forever! Do you have any ideas for any other things that we can have our ally do to my father?"

"Drag their sleep mats to a different tent in the middle of the night," Rick suggested. “Watch them panic when they think we've gone missing. But if they wake up in the process, would they attack him before they realize he's not an enemy?"

"There's an easy way to prevent that—sleeping herbs," the young Med-jai said smugly. "We will either have to let Amir in on it or send our ally to retrieve the sleeping herbs." Ardeth considered this for a moment, grinning. "When we're traveling, Father and Uncle Terrence will be leading the caravan, and we'll be near the back. Maybe we can convince our ally to help us switch litters right before lunch. That will drive Father insane—he's like me, he pays attention to who is riding what horse, and since we can't change litters on our own . . ." Ardeth trailed off into silence, trying to contain his grin.

Rick was nodding eagerly. Ardeth could be very devious when he put his mind to it. "Oh, yeah, this trip is going to be so much fun!"

A moment later, Amir walked up with their horses and litters and began to strap them in. Just as he had almost finished Ardeth's litter, the ally arrived. "The mission has been accomplished," he said with a bow.

"I thank you for your service," Ardeth said formally, then paused, realizing that he had never learned the man's name, though they had met over a week ago. "May I ask your name?"

"My name is Gen, Your Majesty. Is there any other task you would have me do?"

The boy smiled. "Yes, Gen. Right before the noon break, would you be so kind as to help us switch litters without my esteemed father noticing?" Ardeth asked, smiling innocently at Amir as the man finished strapping him in.

Amir only shook his head. As long as they followed his orders to limit their movements, he really didn't care how they schemed, but he would be there to watch the results.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Gen replied, then bowed and went to mount his horse for the journey.

As Amir strapped Rick into his litter, he and the two boys heard distant cries of surprise and a couple of thumping sounds. Two bodies hitting the sand.

Ardeth had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "Tell me what you see, please, Amir," the boy asked, since his litter was facing away from where Suleimon and Terrence had tried to mount.

“So now you wish to make me your accomplice in crime?” Amir muttered as he moved to get a better view.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Rick said laughing.

Amir sighed as he took in the situation and reported. “Your father’s and your uncle’s saddles have come loose, and they have fallen from their mounts. They’re shaking the sand out of their robes and hair and gesturing wildly in this direction.” He paused a moment. “Now, they’re headed this way, and they don’t look pleased.” If Rick had not been secured to the litter, he would have been rolling in the sand from how hard he was laughing.

Taking a deep breath to focus himself, Ardeth managed to get his own amusement under control. “Deep breaths, Rick—remember, we didn’t do anything,” the boy murmured, relaxing into the litter. “Besides, we don’t want them to do more than suspect us . . . yet.”

After a moment, Rick had quieted his laughing and had assumed an innocent face. Amir quirked his eyebrow at how quickly he had composed himself, guessing that he probably had a good deal of experience with this. Both the king and Dr. Bey appeared in front of the boys a moment later, stern-faced, eyeing the two through slits despite their blank expressions.

"Is something wrong, Father, uncle?" Ardeth asked, his own face showing only curiosity and innocence. "Amir is nearly done hooking us in, so we'll be ready in just a moment—are we holding up the caravan?"

Dr. Bey and Suleimon exchanged glances. "We know it was you. We don't know how, but we know it was you," Terrence accused them.

"What was ‘us’?" Rick asked, seeming to be genuinely confused.

"Someone loosened our saddle straps," the king said with a raised eyebrow. "You can imagine the results."

"You got dumped in the sand? Just like you did to me when I was first learning to ride?" Ardeth asked, raising an eyebrow. He shook his head. "Be reasonable, Father—we've been forbidden to move, so how could we loosen your saddles?"

"Very well," Dr. Bey said, scoffing. "Proclaim your innocence in this. We'll discover your methods eventually." With a last glance of warning at the boys, the men turned and walked back to their horses, certain to check that the strap was secure this time before they climbed back on. Once they were gone, Rick looked over at Ardeth in triumph.

Ardeth looked back at Rick, unable to contain his smile anymore. "And so we win round one."


	22. Unexpected Mishaps

Minutes later, the caravan was on its way. Many of the warriors were snickering quietly about the events of the morning. It wasn't often that the king was successfully pranked.

"So, we're going to switch litters, and tonight, we'll switch tents—any other ideas?" Ardeth asked as they traveled the desert.

"We could have Gen bring us small shovels, and we could hide items beneath our sleeping mats. We'd just have to remember not to leave them behind," Rick suggested.

"Excellent idea. What should we hide? Definitely my father's shaving kit—he shaves every morning, so he'll spend forever looking for that." Ardeth gestured Horus to distract his father—a moment later, the bird came back, proudly holding Suleimon's turban.

"And Dr. Bey's fez! And his book that he's always reading!" Rick added.

Ardeth shook his head. "Not the book—I would like to survive to recover. His fez, definitely. Well, maybe we'll come up with more ideas later on."

After they had stopped for lunch, Gen helped them to switch litters. Both boys were dying laughing for the rest of the trip to imagine the king’s reaction when he found out. Once they finished their journey for the day, the king was greatly confused and bewildered when he found out they weren't where he thought they would be.

Suleimon had come up behind the litter that Ardeth had been in that morning to see how his son was doing, only to find himself looking down at Rick. Both boys had to struggle to keep from laughing. "Is something wrong, Father?" Ardeth asked from just a few feet away where he was watching his father stare down at Rick, then at the horse in complete bewilderment.

"Your Majesty," Rick greeted the king casually.

The king's eyes carefully examined the riders of both horses, before slowly edging his horse over to check on Ardeth. "Are you doing well, my son?" his voice was slightly colored with his confusion.

"I am fine, Father. A little tired and heartily sick of being in the litter, but fine. Oh, here," Ardeth held out Suleimon's turban. "Horus brought me this a while ago."

Suleimon's eyes narrowed as he took the turban from his son's hands. "I had wondered where that bird had dropped it. And you O'Connell?"

"I'm doing good," Rick said nodding.

"Good," though Suleimon's voice seemed uncertain, his mind still thinking about the horses and how he had been so sure about where they had been placed. Rick and Ardeth were still laughing about it that night when Gen came to their tent as the rest of the Med-jai were setting up the camp.

"The shovels you requested, Your Majesty. Will there be anything else?"

"Could you ask Amir for two mild sleep-aids? Also, find out who is on watch tonight, please," Ardeth requested, sticking the shovels under the rugs so that they were hidden. He laughed quietly again as he remembered his father's face.

"Yes, Your Majesty." And Gen was off on his assignment.

Rick turned to Ardeth. "So, how are we going to slip them these sleeping drugs?"

Ardeth made a face. "Both Father and Uncle Terrence like coffee, and that stuff is so powerful it will drown out the taste of the herbs completely. I can't see how they can stand to drink that stuff—it's horrible," the boy grumbled, rubbing a finger over the bruises on his face. The swelling had gone down, but now they were all sorts of colors and looked terrible.

The gesture was not lost on Rick who smiled. "Don't worry, it doesn't look as bad as you think. But I know what you mean about coffee. That stuff is vile! .... Of course, I've only had Father Duncan's coffee, so that's probably not a fairly accurate judgment on my part." Rick nearly gagged from the memory of how sick that stuff had made him.

"Give me tea any time!" Ardeth said fiercely, then shook his head. "So how are you doing? Is your shoulder all right?"

“It feels the same as it always does. I guess I won't really know for sure until Amir takes a look at it." Soon, Amir came in to clean their wounds but had a troubled look on his face. "Gen told me that you need sleeping herbs. Is the pain getting worse?"

Ardeth winced slightly. "No, the pain is the same as it was this morning." The boy told him, carefully leaving out that this morning was worse than it had been in a few days. "We're just planning on helping my uncle and father sleep better tonight."

At this, Amir rolled his eyes. "If the king finds out—"

"Well, don't you think my father deserves a good night's sleep?" Ardeth asked with an innocent smile. "He's been far too stressed recently."

"And I wonder who could have caused that," Amir grumbled as he handed Ardeth the sleeping agents before sitting and beginning to take off the old bandage around Ardeth's leg.

"We need to talk to Gen again—maybe he can slip this into their coffee pot." Ardeth murmured, putting the sleeping herbs into his pocket. "And see if the night watchman is willing to help us move them."

As Amir was finishing up with Ardeth and moving to Rick, Gen returned with the night watchmen.

Looking up at the two men, Ardeth bowed his head regally in greeting. "Are you two willing to help Rick and myself complete our revenge against my father and uncle by completely confusing them?" the boy asked gravely, though he was smirking a little.

Rick laughed as Gen's face split into a wide grin, and the night guard's face also a second or two later. They both inclined their heads and accepted the mission. Amir shook his head in despair to see more of their men falling to the dark side.

Ardeth handed over the sleeping herbs to Gen. "These must go into the coffee pot. Then, at second watch, we will drag them into the tent next door—in the morning, they will wake up and think that we have been kidnapped, when in reality it is they who have been moved."

Gen and the guard looked at each other in delight relishing the task their prince had given to them. "It will be done, Your Majesty," Gen said.

"Thank you for your help," Ardeth told them, grinning widely now. "You better go before they come in—Father brews the coffee at sunset by the main fire since the smell of it makes me ill."

With a small bow, both exited the tent. Grunting momentarily, Rick shifted a little as Amir hit a particularly sensitive area. Amir seemed pleased though. "I know it hurts, but it is looking better than it did this morning."

"That's good news," Rick said, grimacing slightly.

"So, do you think that we'll be able to ride the horses into Kiriyah Gan?" Ardeth asked, gently rubbing a hand over his own injury.

Amir thought a second, quickly assessing the condition of all the injuries garnered by both boys. "I believe so as long as there aren't too many more unexpected setbacks. That means that you have to continue to take it slowly, but yes, I think you both will have healed sufficiently to ride into the city once we reach it."

The young Med-jai sighed in relief. "Oh, good. It would be humiliating to have to go in on a litter when I wasn't even in a true battle. Most of the elders aren't too happy about my being marked this young anyway."

"What?" Rick asked, incredulous. “We were in two battles, countless duels, not to mention both of us beaten and tortured. If the elders have a problem with that, I like to see what they'd do in that situation."

"They want me to stay at home, playing at being a warrior," Ardeth told him, voice dry. "If they had their way, I wouldn't start my duty until I was in my twenties, if then. Father fought with them for years about letting me start when I was thirteen, and thus far I have proven him right."

"And you'll have proven him right again. You saved Hamunaptra from falling into the hands of the enemy without back up. And besides, how could they expect you to rule them one day if you've had no experience doing the things you’d have to ask your own people to do?"

At that, Ardeth laughed. "Exactly! That's exactly the argument that Father and I have used. But, until I come of age, they will always try to sneak my name off of the duty rotation." The boy looked up when Suleimon and Terrance came in. "Hello—what took so long?"

"Speak to your uncle about it,” Suleimon said with an exasperated scowl on his face.

Dr. Bey threw an annoyed glare at his brother. But after a moment, he answered the questioning looks he was receiving from Amir and the boys. "I can't find my fez."

Rick remained impassive, but inside, he was laughing. Gen can sure move fast.

"Oh, so you've been looking for it this entire time and leaving us to starve?" Ardeth asked, giving his uncle his best pitiful look. "I'm hungry, uncle—do we get dinner soon?"

Dr. Bey rolled his eyes as he began preparing the meal, looking somewhat older without his hat. "How do you eat when I'm not around?" he asked.

"Well, if I'm home, I try to find a family with a mother who feels sorry for me so that I don't have to eat whatever the cousins decide is food that day. On the trail, usually I just eat jerky," Ardeth told Terrence with a shrug.

Rick laughed. "No wonder you’re sick of jerky. Your diet sounds just like mine!"

Dr. Bey cast his eyes back and forth between Ardeth and Rick, who were both very tall for their age and would be even more so before they stopped growing, he was certain. "How do you get so tall eating food of this kind?" he wondered, shaking his head.

Suleimon turned to study the boys himself, eyes lingering on Ardeth. "I've been wondering that for years myself," the king said and tossed a canteen over to the boys. "I'll send someone in with your tea in a bit, boys—I'm going to make my coffee."

Rick and Ardeth both nodded casually. After a short while, Dr. Bey had dinner ready and handed the boys their plates.

"Thank you, uncle." Ardeth took the food gratefully and started eating—he was really enjoying his uncle's cooking. Then, he paused, looking up at the man. "Uncle, you have some sand in your hair."

The man groaned and then ran his hand through his hair to brush the sand out. Rick couldn't look at him for fear of laughing. So, he just kept his eyes on his plate.

A few minutes later, Suleimon came back in, carrying two cups of coffee. He handed one of them to Terrence and settled down on his sleep mat with the other, sighing in contentment. Ardeth nearly choked on his food and had to look away quickly.

The adults thinking he was gagging on the smell of the coffee shifted a little further away so that the aroma wouldn’t be so overpowering for him. Rick began to clean his guns to give himself something to focus on. “So, Amir says we should be able to ride by the time we reach the Kiriyah Gan,” he said as he disassembled the gun with quick motions. He had been practicing every day, and his hands were beginning to move much faster than they had when he had first learned.

Suleimon nodded, looking pleased. “That will be good. After all, there are some ceremonies that need to be observed with Ardeth and me returning to the city at the same time,” the man said, smirking a little at the boy’s heavy sigh.

“I was hoping that part could be avoided,” Ardeth admitted, wrinkling his nose slightly at the thought of the ceremonial dress robes.

Rick looked between the two. "What kind of ceremonies?"

"Oh, you won't have to participate in these ones, at least," Ardeth told him. "When the royal family is gone from the city, and we return at the same time, there are a few ceremonies that we have to go through, including dressing up."

Rick hid a grin, though he was slightly confused. With how much Ardeth fussed over the condition of his robes, he would have thought that the prince would be looking forward to getting a fresh set that didn't look like they'd been through a war. Within a minute or two, he had cleaned every inch of the gun, put it back together, and then reached for the other.

Ardeth watched him work, making a point of hiding a yawn every time Suleimon or Terrence glanced at him. "You are getting much faster with that—maybe later we can find a shotgun for you to learn how to take care of."

Rick beamed at the suggestion. He was dying to start target practice, but he didn't want his shoulder to heal any more slowly than it already was. He was also eager to try his hand at a shotgun to see how it felt, but he knew Amir would kill him if he even thought the boy had it in his head. So for now, he would gladly settle for cleaning a shotgun. "I like that idea!" he proclaimed readily.

"Maybe tomorrow morning, before we leave for the day." Ardeth smiled as he noticed that his plan was working—between the sleeping herbs in the coffee and the yawns that Ardeth was faking, both Terrence and Suleimon were starting to fall asleep.

Rick nodded eagerly, chancing a glance out of the corner of his eye. Terrence was putting out the cooking fire, and Suleimon had already lay down, setting what little of his coffee remained by his sleeping mat.

Dr. Bey turned to the boys. "Well, it seems our little escapade this morning took more out of us than we had anticipated," he glared sleepily at Ardeth and Rick in turn before laying down himself. "Good night, boys."

Hiding his smile, Ardeth nodded to the adults. "Good night, Father, Uncle," he said and lay back himself, not daring to look at Rick for fear of bursting out into laughter.

Rick quickly finished cleaning up his last gun and holstered it. Then, he carefully slid out of the twin holsters and laid it on the rug next to his sleep mat. He clearly remembered Ardeth's warning from when he got the guns and did not want to shoot himself in his sleep, there by sustaining another bullet wound to recover from. He lay down on the sleep mat subtly turning to where he could watch to see when Dr. Bey and Suleimon had fallen into a deep sleep. And it didn't take too long. Only then did he chance a look over at Ardeth.

Meeting the other boy's eyes, Ardeth started laughing silently at the success of their plan. After a moment, the young Med-jai scooted closer to Rick. "We'll wait until the second watch, so we know that they'll be sound asleep. Gen and the watchman will come in to help us, so until then, we can sleep," the boy whispered, keeping an eye on the adults as he spoke.

"'We'? What 'we'? You can't drag them with your leg," Rick pointed out quietly.

Ardeth frowned, sighing at that. "Well, yes, but I do want to watch it! And you and I need to get all the sleep we can, so that we can heal faster. Gen will wake us up when he comes in to move them, I'm sure."

"Yeah," Rick said, nodding, settling down on his sleep mat. "Sleep well, buddy. See you in a few hours." He rolled onto his back and stared up at the roof of the tent, waiting for his mind to quiet enough for sleep to come to him.

"You sleep well also, my friend," Ardeth murmured and was asleep moments later.

It was nearly midnight when soft rustling woke both boys up. The flap of the tent was open, and two men were just entering, grinning widely.

Gen and the night watchman gave a small bow, "At your service, Your Majesty," Gen whispered.

Ardeth sat up, bowing back, also grinning. "Is the tent next door set up to look exactly like this one?" he murmured, glancing over at where Terrence and Suleimon slept on, peacefully unaware of anything around them.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Gen replied. "Everything is in place, except for them." He cast a glance over to the king and his brother.

The boy's smile widened. "The sleeping herbs will wear off in a few hours, so you shouldn't have any problems," he told them, hiding a yawn.

Gen and the night watchmen bowed and began their task, slowly dragging the sleeping royals out and across the sand to the tent that had been prepared for them. Rick was astounded at how quietly they moved, especially Gen. If he had not seen him with his own eyes and heard his voice when he had spoken, he wasn't sure he would have known he was in the tent at all. Within seconds, the tent door was closed, and the boys were alone.

"Things will be very interesting in the morning," Ardeth whispered, lying back down sleepily. "Rest well, my friend."

"You too, buddy," Rick said, still grinning even as he fell asleep.

The next morning, Ardeth woke up just before dawn, finally getting back into his normal sleeping schedule. He immediately rolled over to see if Rick was awake yet. The sleeping herbs should have worn off quite a while ago, so his father and uncle would be waking up any moment.

Rick was still asleep, catching up on the on some of the rest he had lost over his dreams the night before.

Hesitating, Ardeth decided to let his friend sleep for a little while longer. He would wake the older boy up as soon as he heard movement from the tent next door. Trying not to laugh, he sat up and stretched carefully, checking to see if his leg was any more flexible than it had been.

A few minutes later, there were some sounds coming from the next tent over, boots scuffing against the sand and quick movements.

"Rick, wake up!" Ardeth hissed, quickly lying back down and forcing himself to relax enough that he looked asleep. "They're awake!"

Rick rolled over, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Has the show started yet?" But suddenly raised voices, shouts in Arabic, and many running boot-shod feet answered his question. Rick snorted as he tried to hold in his laughter. "I guess it worked," he whispered to Ardeth.

"Yes, I think they just woke up. They're probably checking the horses and searching for tracks to find out what way our kidnappers took us," Ardeth murmured, grinning.

Many of the Med-jai warriors were running around outside at the panicked commands of the king and his brother. Rick listened as the commotion grew. He looked at Ardeth. "Man, when they find it was us, we are going to die." But he was still laughing.

"How exactly are they going to blame us, though?" Ardeth asked, shaking his head at the commotion. "Neither of us is healed enough to move them, so they can't possibly think that we did it."

Seconds later, the flap of the tent was thrust open.

It was one of the Med-jai warriors. Seeing the boys and that they were alright, he began calling out to the king and Dr. Bey who ran over to the tent.

Ardeth put a hand over his mouth to hide his laughter, making it look like he was yawning. "What's going on, Father? Is there an attack?" he mumbled, sitting up and letting his hair swing forward to hide his expression.

But the king was on his knees next to Ardeth in a second. He pulled the boy to himself and held him there tightly. His breath was still coming in short bursts as he tried to calm the panic in his heart at having lost his son a second time. And at that moment, he felt nothing but the relief that the boy was alive and safe there in his arms. Rick watched managing to keep a straight face, but inside he felt guilty for having done this to Suleimon. Before he could think about it though, Dr. Bey's arms were wrapped around him, which startled him greatly at first, because it was the last thing he had expected.

Ardeth sighed softly as he was held tightly to his father's chest, listening to the racing heart slowly calm down. Maybe this prank hadn't been the best idea. "Father, I'm fine—Rick and I are both safe," he murmured after a minute when the king showed no sign of letting go any time soon.

The king nodded but still didn’t speak. Rick grimaced inwardly. If Ardeth hadn't been facing protective custody when they reached Kiriyah Gan before, he certainly was now. Rick shook his head. Why can't I keep my big mouth shut? he thought. He looked up at Dr. Bey who was still hovering protectively over him. Over the past couple of weeks, Terrence had become quite attached to this troublemaker, and if anything happened to either him or Ardeth under his care, he would never be able to forgive himself. Rick was thoroughly confused, not used to having anyone other than Father Duncan, and recently Ardeth, care what happened to him.

After another few minutes, Ardeth finally pushed away from Suleimon's chest a little so that he could look at his father's face. "Peace, Father. No one can hurt us or kidnap us, not with a full clan of warriors around us."

Suleimon placed his hands gently around the boy's face, examining it carefully. Seeing that he hadn't garnered anymore injuries than he already had, he held him at arm's length as he attacked him with a barrage of questions. "What happened? How did you end up in here? Do you remember being moved last night? Do you remember anything at all?"

Ardeth sighed and glanced over at Rick for permission to tell the adults about what had really happened.

Rick cringed slightly. Oh yeah, we're going to die. But he nodded his head quickly before he could change his mind. Then, he tried to extricate himself from Dr. Bey's grasp before the curator, upon hearing Ardeth’s news, decided to crush him to death.

"Father, Rick and I didn't move. You and Uncle Terrence were moved. It was meant to be a joke, but I guess we didn't think it through completely. I apologize for distressing you so much," the boy said, dropping his eyes.

Then, the king and Dr. Bey both broke into grins, confusing the boys greatly. The king raised Ardeth's chin and looked at him with a narrowed gaze. "I know. We both know." Rick looked over at Ardeth wide-eyed.

Ardeth's eyes narrowed, and he pushed away from his father. "You!" he spluttered, going into a diatribe of insults in quite a few different languages.

Suleimon and Dr. Bey only smiled at each other in triumph. Dr. Bey looked at the two boys pointedly. "If we had truly been fooled, you two would be fortunate to still be breathing at this moment. We did this to you two to teach you a lesson: you have to think your actions all the way through first. There can always be consequences you did not foresee. And those consequences could be more costly than you can afford."

"And for future reference, my son, the sleeping herb you used changes the color of the coffee," Suleimon added with a raised eyebrow. "Now my brother, do you think these two conspirators deserve breakfast?" the king asked Terrence.

The curator shrugged. "I guess so, for the effort at least."

Rick watched them leave to bring their sleep mats back to the correct tent, still looking as though he had been blindsided. He looked questioningly at Ardeth. "What just happened? I was hallucinating there for a second."

Ardeth started banging his head against the support pole for the tent, looking very frustrated. "I'm going to tell Horus that Father is a pest and deserves no rest ever again!"

"So that really happened?" Rick asked, still unsure. "Well, at least we're still alive and not grounded for life."

"There is that," Ardeth admitted and leaned the aching bruise on his face against the cool wood of the support pole. "I just hope that Father and Uncle Terrence don't give Gen and the night watchman any grief about helping us."

Rick nodded in agreement. Just then, Suleimon and Dr. Bey came back in with their sleep mats under their arms. Terrence sat down and began to prepare breakfast with a cheery smile on his face. Rick chucked a pillow at the man. "Sure, rub it in, why don't you!"

Terrence easily dodged the pillow, still smiling. "So did you boys sleep well?" the man asked mischievously, not looking up from his movements. "I slept quite well, actually—best I've slept since this whole mess started."

Ardeth glared at his uncle and started to bang his forehead again but decided it wasn't worth the effort.

Rick grumbled something under his breath. Amir came into the tent to bandage their wounds and immediately froze when he entered the door, feeling the tension in the air. He looked somewhat nervously between the boys and the adults who greeted him warmly.

"Good morning, Amir," Ardeth said politely, keeping his face pressed against the pole. "Did you know that the sleeping herbs change the color of coffee?"

Amir said nothing but moved quietly over to begin washing Ardeth's wounds. Rick stared at the man open-mouthed.

Ardeth didn't say anything to Amir, he just turned to glare again at his father. "Was the entire camp in on this? Including Gen and the night watchman?" he demanded, vowing right then not to reveal to his father where his shaving gear was buried.

"No, and to his credit, neither was Amir."

The boys looked at the healer.

"When I brought those sleep aids, I thought they were for the two of you," he explained. "And then when I heard you intended to slip it into their coffee, I resolved not to say anything." Amir shook his head at the angry glances he was getting. "You weren't there to see your father's reaction the first time he learned that you had been kidnapped by temple guards. I haven't seen your father like that in a long time, and I never want to see him like that again. You do not know how he suffered from that." He looked up at Ardeth, his eyes scolding.

Ardeth's shoulders tensed, and he looked away, desperately wishing that he could walk on his own. He needed some time to himself, to just deal with everything that had happened. He truly didn't want to cause his father any distress, but the pranks were a good way of forgetting the grief and rage that still burned within him against Kasim. After a moment, the boy drew his best expression of calmness forward and gave Amir a slight understanding smile. The boy welcomed the pain that came from his wound being cleaned, since it gave him something to focus on besides the hot ache that had settled in his throat.

"Though I do have to compliment you on your methods," Suleimon said quickly, sensing his son's discomfort. "Had it not been that the coffee had changed colors, I would never have suspected. Your skill for strategy is increasing. I wouldn't mind if you might use someone else as the target. Terrence for example."

"Hey!" Dr. Bey objected. "That's it! No breakfast for you," he declared, pretending to be slighted. Handing the plates of fresh food to the boys, he kept Suleimon's plate for himself.

Accepting the plate with a quiet word of thanks, Ardeth glanced at Rick and gave the older boy a reassuring smile. He ate the food quietly, doing his best to project his usual aura of planning mischief.

Rick wasn't so sure. Ardeth seemed to look alright, but something in his gut told him otherwise. Still, he didn't say anything about it. He ate his breakfast quietly. Amir had finished with the prince and came over to work on Rick. Once he was finished, Rick stood carefully and went to see if he could find Horus for Ardeth, figuring that would give him something else to focus on.

Ardeth lingered over his breakfast, not wanting to have to try to conceal his feelings from his father. The Med-jai king was extraordinarily good at reading his son, and only in recent months had the boy made any progress in hiding his emotions and thoughts from his father. Ardeth knew that he needed to get some time to himself, but that wasn't going to happen for quite a while—everyone was too paranoid about there being other traitors, so the prince was constantly being watched by no less than five warriors. Giving up on finishing the food, Ardeth put the plate aside and tried to figure out what to do now.

Suleimon, who had finished the food he had finally managed to convince his brother to give him, rose and looked at Dr. Bey. "Let's prepare the camp to depart. Soon, we will be home." He exited the tent after his brother, giving a small nod to his son. He could tell Ardeth was in pain, but he still wasn't sure if he needed time to himself or not. He lingered at the door for a moment, unsure as to whether he should talk with his son about Kasim yet or not.

Ardeth didn't notice his father watching him. He was staring at his leg in frustration, slowly moving it, trying to work past the pain to strengthen it again. Finally, after one stretch that tugged it too far, the boy gave a muffled groan of pain, lowering himself face-first onto his sleeping mat and shivering.


	23. Fading Scars

The king's heart broke in two, and he stepped back inside the tent and knelt beside Ardeth. He placed his hand on his shoulder and looked at him in concern. "I'm sorry, my son. Perhaps I did not consider all the consequences of my actions beforehand."

Choking back tears, Ardeth grabbed Suleimon's free hand and held it tightly but kept his face hidden. "Everything's wrong, Father," he whispered after a minute, distantly surprised at how strange and empty his voice sounded. "Kasim should be here, helping me find a way to prank you, not—not…” he couldn't get the words out and gave up, pushing his face harder into the rug, wincing at the pain from the pressure on the bruises decorating his face.

The king held onto his son. "I know. I can't understand it either. How the man whom I had considered my closest friend could do this to you…" Suleimon's voice trailed off and tears of his own began to flow down his cheeks. "Why would he do this?" he whispered, still at a loss.

"He told me it was because of his family. They all died while fulfilling the duty, and he wanted it to stop. I just don't understand!"

At this, Suleimon's eyes widened, and he breathed in a sigh of pain and regret. Kasim had never really been the same since his family died. It had been one of the reasons that they had become so close. But the king had thought that he would eventually come to terms with his loss. "He never dealt with his grief. He had become bitter, and that bitterness must have poisoned him." Finally, it was beginning to make a horrible kind of sense. "Son, when you have lost greatly, you become angry and want someone to blame. You'll fight who ever you have to hold on to what you have left, because you're afraid of ever having to feel that kind of pain again. If you cannot heal from grief like that, it can corrupt you, twisting you up inside until you are an enemy of everything you once believed in. I had thought that he had come to terms with what had happened. I am so sorry, Ardeth! I should have known, and I should never have sent him back to Hamunaptra with you!" He felt the pain of grief stabbing him like a knife. It was his fault! He should have recognized the danger! He should not have risked his son!

"It's not your fault, Father. Kasim was the one who choose to hold onto his grief and bitterness. I will miss him, and mourn the man he was, but he is dead now. Nothing can change that," Ardeth whispered, sitting up a little and almost flinging himself into his father's arms.

Suleimon held his son close. Ardeth had spoken with wisdom. He breathed deeply as his arms tightened around his son. He knew the boy was right, but he wondered if Ardeth had died in his clutches, had been lost to Suleimon forever, could he become the same man that Kasim had let himself become. He shook his head as he vowed against it. He would never have let the pain suffered by those he loved and lost be in vain. He kissed his son's forehead and breathed in relief that he had not lost him yet, to death or to grief.

Ardeth clung to his father, wishing his roiling emotions would settle down. He was having a difficult enough time adjusting to everything as it was.

After a time, Suleimon's grip on his son seemed to lax somewhat. "I'm very proud of you, my son." he said quietly as he wiped the tears from his son's face.

Shaking his head, the boy looked down. "I was so frightened--I didn't know what to do," he whispered, taking in a deep breath and holding it until he managed to calm down.

"And yet, you did not give in," the king replied with a small smile. "You cannot show courage and strength if you're not afraid."

"Thank you, Father." The boy slowly sat up, scrubbing the sleeve of his robe over his face. "We should probably go—it's almost time to leave, I'm sure."

"Yes, it is time, and soon we will be home," he told his son reassuringly before he rose to bring the horses with the litters.

About that time, Rick returned with Horus on his arm and sat down in front of Ardeth. "Sorry it took me so long. It took me a while to remember the signal to get him to land." He looked around, almost in fear for his life. "I may have accidentally called him down on a couple of the warriors, including Dr. Bey. He's not happy with me right now."

At that, Ardeth laughed quietly. "The hand signals usually take years to learn—you've done remarkably well. And if he attacked my uncle, that's fine. Horus, my father and uncle played a nasty trick on Rick and me this morning. Would you please deal with them?" he asked the bird seriously, and this time, his smile was real.

The bird chirped enthusiastically before flying out of the tent and about his work. Rick grinned, relieved to see Ardeth in good spirits again. "So how many more days did Amir say before we can ride?"

"He didn't, but I'm going to guess that it will be the morning we're supposed to get home," Ardeth told Rick, with a slight sigh.

Rick sighed too but figured he should be content that they would be riding into the city at least. "So what do these ceremonial robes look like?" he asked, a sly expression on his face.

Glancing at his friend's expression, the younger boy sighed. "Oh, I don't think I'm going to tell you. I'll just let you be surprised when you see them." Ardeth's voice was dry, and he slid off of his sleeping mat, rolling it up.

"Nuts," Rick said as he did the same, carefully removing Dr. Bey's fez from the hole under his sleeping mat. "I think I'll wear this into the city, as a trophy maybe! What do you think?" he asked as he placed it carefully atop his head. It slid off, and he replaced it several times. "How does he keep this thing on?"

"I've wondered that for years myself—many of the elders like to wear them." Ardeth smoothed the sand under his own sleeping mat, carefully hiding his father's shaving gear with a smirk.

Just then, Amir walked in to help bring the boys out to the litters. Seeing the fez on Rick's head, he laughed. "You have a death-wish, don't you, O'Connell?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Rick said as he hid it among the supplies.

Ardeth handed Amir the rolled sleeping mat and shovels, glancing over the floor once again to make certain that his father's shaving gear was well hidden.

Amir shrugged and placed the sleeping mat with the supplies. "It's time to go," he said as he reached down to help Ardeth to his feet.

Biting his lip as he rested his weight on his leg, the boy gingerly stepped away from Amir's support, testing out his leg.

Rick and Amir both watched carefully to see if Ardeth would be alright standing on his own. Rick didn't say anything because, as Ardeth had said before, he knew his own limits, but he genuinely hoped his friend wasn't pushing himself out of impatience.

After a few cautious steps, Ardeth leaned against the support pole of the tent, taking his weight off of the injured leg. "I'm ready to go—are the horses ready?"

"Yes," Amir said slowly, "they're just outside."

Considering the distance, Ardeth nodded. He took a deep breath and slowly started out of the tent. His movements were stiff and slow, but he was walking on his own.

Amir followed closely behind him. Rick stooped to pick up his holsters and slid them on before coming out to the horses himself. Once he did, he saw Ardeth just making it to the horse, and he walked up to join him, standing close enough for Ardeth to grab for support if he needed. He smiled proudly at his friend, glad for the progress he had made.

"I did it!" Ardeth said, sighing in relief and sitting back in the litter. His leg ached fiercely from the strain, but overall, the effort made him feel much better and more like himself.

"Yes, you did." Rick clapped him on the back in congratulations.

Amir moved the straps aside on the litter, despite how nervous it made him, he was glad to see the prince able to use his leg again somewhat too. "Well done, Your Majesty," he agreed when he turned to face him.

"Thank you for allowing me to try, Amir." Ardeth said, letting the man strap him in. From overhead, they heard a screech as Horus dived, then annoyed shouts from the king.

Rick looked at Ardeth, nodding and laughing. "It's a shame Horus doesn't seem to enjoy the tasks you give him," he joked.

Ardeth grinned at him. "If you see any rabbits while we're riding today, see if you can shoot one—Horus deserves a good meal, since he'll be working hard all day."

"Yes!" Rick cheered. "Target practice!" Amir turned to the boy, smiling himself. Both he and Ardeth knew he was dying to practice his aim ever since he'd got those guns, and he had been impressed the boy had been able to wait this long before using them. Rick looked at him, hoping the man wasn't about to forbid him from the exercise. Amir sighed his consent but shooed the boy over to his litter to strap him in.

"Now, the real challenge will be, of course, to shoot in such a way that the animal will land where we can reach it," Ardeth told Rick, indicating the straps. "After all, it's not like we can go retrieve it easily."

"Could Horus retrieve it for us if it is out of reach?" Rick asked

"Yes, of course—but only if he's not hiding from my father." Ardeth's smile widened when he heard wild shouting coming from his uncle.

Rick laughed, but then wondered. "If I start shooting at things, wouldn't that spook the horse I'm riding on?"

Ardeth shook his head. "No, all of our horses are trained for war—they often help us. There is very little that you can do that would frighten a Med-jai steed."

"Yes!" Rick cheered again. His grin stretched from ear to ear, as he pulled out both of his guns.

Laughing when Horus dropped his father's turban and a ripped piece of cloth from his uncle's robe, the boy rolled his eyes. "I can't wait to see what Father does when he realizes his shaving equipment is missing."

Rick started laughing when he realized he had forgotten about that. “You left it buried in the sand, didn’t you?”

Ardeth nodded, looking smug. “If Father wants it back badly enough, he’s going to have to go back and dig it up himself. That’s the least I owe him after that stunt this morning!”

"Oh man, your dad is never going to hear the end of this." Soon, the entire party was mounted and traveling at a good speed across the desert.

"I'm actually quite surprised Father hasn't noticed that it's missing already—normally, he shaves first thing in the morning," Ardeth told Rick, glancing back at where they had camped.

"By tomorrow at least, I'm sure he'll notice. Probably even by this evening. We were, after all, a little distracted this morning."

"Very true. Well, I'm going to try to sleep until we stop for lunch—anything to make this trip go faster!"

"Alright," Rick said nodding, putting his guns away. He didn't mind. Now that he had been given permission by Amir, he would hunt for rabbits when they stopped for lunch. Besides, there hadn't been any signs of life since they had left the camp. He laid his head back as well, watching the clouds drift overhead, and pretty soon, he was asleep himself.

Ardeth swung down from his horse, careful not to jar his leg too much, but thrilled to be able to ride on his own. Now that Amir had finally given permission for the two boys to ride, the journey was almost complete. The group would arrive in Kiriyah Gan the next day.

Rick dismounted with no small amount of enthusiasm, equally thrilled that he was not being dragged around all day behind a horse. Though Amir had warned him to be careful in how much strain he put on his shoulder, by now, it was almost completely healed. "Almost home," he called to Ardeth as they crossed over to their tent. "Are you excited?"

"Thrilled," Ardeth told him and grabbed a pack of clean clothes from the tent. "Come on, let's go get cleaned up before supper."

Rick followed Ardeth, grabbing a clean set of clothes for himself.

Once down at the oasis, Ardeth stripped out of his robes and shirt, then jumped in. The water was pleasantly warm after a full day of the desert sun but still cool enough to be refreshing after riding all day.

Rick took off his robes, got a running jump, and did a cannonball, dousing the prince with the wave he created.

Spluttering, Ardeth wiped water out of his face, then splashed Rick back. "This could go on all night, my friend, if you don't admit defeat," the boy warned Rick, grinning.

Rick stared back challengingly. "Bring it on, buddy!" He immediately began kicking up waves at Ardeth.

Ardeth sank under the water and kicked off of the sand to swim at Rick's feet, trying to drag him under.

Just barely seeing his tactic in time, Rick tried to jump away. He could not move very fast in the water, and living in Cairo all of his life hadn't provided him with very many opportunities for practice.

Latching onto Rick's leg, Ardeth held on and did his best to pull the bigger boy into the water. After a bit, he had to come up for air.

Rick seized the opportunity. He grabbed a hold of Ardeth shoulders, putting the boy into an arm lock and, after giving the boy sufficient time to take a breath, dunked him into the water. After a few seconds, he surfaced again. "Do you give up?" he asked the prince.

"I am Med-jai! We do not give up!" Ardeth declared proudly, twisting in Rick's grip, trying to get free. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about accidentally reinjuring Rick's shoulder—Amir had declared it almost healed enough to use the shotgun.

Rick simply let them both drop under water again, trying to hold him there. Though keeping a grip on the prince was becoming difficult. He stood up again after holding him down a little longer. "Do you give up?" Rick called again for his surrender.

Breathing hard, Ardeth let himself go limp. Since he was wet and limp, it would be almost impossible to hold onto him without shifting his hold at least a little. And that would be all the opportunity that the boy needed.

"Whoa," Rick cried out in surprise as the prince slid free of his grasp. He tried to reacquire his grip on Ardeth, but it was too late.

Ardeth grabbed hold of Rick's legs, taking the other boy into the water and then swam away. He came up from under the water, panting and grinning from their battle.

"Get back here," Rick called out, laughing once he resurfaced. "I'm not through with you yet."

"Oh really?" Ardeth asked, splashing at Rick again. "You took me captive but couldn't hold me—I think you ought to just admit that I will beat you!"

"Yeah, we'll just see about that!" He immediately began swimming after Ardeth.

Ardeth waited until Rick was almost on top of him, using the time to regulate his breathing, then dove away, swimming as fast as he could.

Rick came up, and Ardeth was gone. Taking a deep breath and marking which direction the prince was going, he slowly dipped below the surface, trying not to make any ripples as he went under and began to give chase, staying as close to the bottom as he could so Ardeth would hopefully not be able to see him coming.

Once Ardeth was on the other side of the pool, he realized that Rick wasn't making any noise. Looking around, he realized that his friend wasn't on the surface. The boy turned and swam away from where he had been at an angle, watching for his friend.

Rick came up after he got to the other end of the pool and still no Ardeth. "Hey, that's cheating," Rick called out.

Ardeth was floating in the middle of the pool of water, watching Rick. "It's cheating to avoid you? Oh, my friend, you are very mistaken." The boy took a deep breath and dove back under, swimming as fast as he could to grab Rick's legs again.

This time Rick went under water and swam out and around to try and come at him from behind.

Seeing the movement, Ardeth twisted around and latched onto Rick. The smaller boy then climbed onto Rick's back, trying to hold him down. If Rick got truly desperate for air, all he had to do was stand up.

Eventually, Rick did stand but only to jump backward so that Ardeth was under him.

Ardeth decided that having someone taller and heavier than you sit on you to keep you underwater wasn't the best experience. He started tickling Rick.

Oh, now that's definitely cheating! Rick thought as he began to thrash. He quickly turned over and tried to pin the prince's arms against his back.

As soon as Rick's weight was off of him, Ardeth shot to the surface, gulping in air. He decided that a strategic retreat was called for and started swimming away.

"Is this your way of accepting defeat?" Rick teased.

The younger boy glared at him. "Of course not! I just decided that I didn't feel like trying to breathe underwater."

"Well, I'm afraid you two will have to call a truce for now," Suleimon called from where he was standing—well away from the edge of the water. He knew enough not to come near, or he would get soaked. "Supper is ready."

“You’re lucky your dad came to save you,” Rick said, laughing good-naturedly, turning to head for shore and the towel that was waiting for him.

"No, you are the one who is fortunate, my friend.” Ardeth splashed out of the water, accepting the towel that Suleimon threw at him. Once he was dried off, he slipped into his clean clothing and started pulling a comb through his hair.

Rick changed into fresh robes, then moved to pick up the old ones and his belongings with them. He nudged Ardeth before starting to head towards the tent.

Rolling his eyes at Rick, Ardeth scooped up his own gear and hurried after the other boy. "Next water battle we have, I will win," Ardeth promised, grinning at his friend.

"Yeah, we'll see," Rick said, returning the smile. Once they inside the tent, Dr. Bey handed them their plates.

"Well, neither of you have drowned," he commented with a raised eyebrow. "I'm impressed."

"Thank you, Uncle." Ardeth took his plate and settled down on his sleeping mat, dropping his dirty clothing in a pile near the tent door. "Would you care to join us in our next battle? It would be a very memorable experience," he asked innocently, exchanging a grin with Rick.

"No, thank you, nephew," Dr. Bey replied, laughing. "I think I had enough of a memorable experience from your last battle."

Rick grinned wickedly at this comment as he dug into his food.

Ardeth shrugged and turned back to his food. "Do you have the robes for tomorrow set out, Father?" the boy asked as Horus flew into the tent and settled on his perch, watching Suleimon and Terrence warily.

Suleimon nodded and gestured over to the robes set neatly on a small cot to keep them off the ground. Rick's gaze followed his outstretched hand to the royal garments. "Whoa!" he murmured as he set his plate down and moved over to look at them. They were made with white silk trimmed in gold thread and jewels that glimmered in the low firelight.

"You could pretend to be me tomorrow, my friend," Ardeth suggested mischievously. "We could just tell everyone that the ordeal changed me."

Terrence and Suleimon chuckled at this, and Rick looked at Ardeth, scoffing. "If it changed you that much, I think even I might start to worry."

"Indeed," Dr. Bey agreed. "The world is not prepared for two of you.”

Ardeth snickered. "It would be amusing to see what the Elders had to say about it, though. I'm certain they would be very confused about it."

Rick snickered to think of their faces. "They might change precedent and give the birthright of ruling your people to one of your cousins."

"Never mind! I would never subject the Med-jai and the rest of the world to one of my cousins in a position of leadership." Ardeth shook his head, alarmed at the thought. "That would be a horrible fate."

"Intelligence briefings and cooking classes," Rick continued. "Egypt will never be the same again."

Shuddering, Ardeth chucked his comb at the older boy. "Enough! I concede, I'll fulfill my duty and let the people see that the heir is indeed still alive and well."

Rick nodded as he felt his goal was accomplished. "Don't you feel better now?" he asked his friend with a sort of evil glee.

Narrowing his eyes at his friend, the younger boy scowled at him. "You like to manipulate me, don't you, my friend? Just be wary—one day I'll get you back!"

Rick shook his head, chuckling. "Of course you will." Rick finished his food and rolled out his sleeping mat, lying down on it on his stomach and propping himself up with his arms. The battle in the oasis had taken a good deal of energy out of him, and now that he had a full stomach, he was starting to get kind of sleepy.

As Rick started to fall asleep, he heard quiet murmurs, and a blanket was draped over his shoulders. The camp settled down for the night, quiet, but filled with restless energy—everyone was eager to arrive home in Kiriyah Gan.

Rick awoke the next morning before everyone else did, for a change. Without a sound, he rose to his feet, walked outside the tent, and sat in the sand for a moment, watching the sun rise over the eastern dunes. The sand blazed as the sun touched it, seeming to catch fire. Rick shifted to sit cross-legged and started for a moment when something in his pocket began to dig into his leg.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small octagonal, metal box. The herb tin, he thought at first. But as he looked at it more closely, he realized that this wasn't the box that they had taken from the fallen red guard on their way to Hamunaptra. That one had been a round, clunky tin. This one had a strange design on one side and hieroglyphs on the other. It looked almost like an ancient artifact of some sort, and for a minute, he couldn’t remember how it had made its way into his pocket. After he thought about it though, it came to him.

When they had been in Kasim's tent that first night they had been rescued. He had rolled over and smashed his face into it. But he had thought at the time that he had landed on one of the guns he had been given. Heh, I must have been carrying this since Hamunaptra, he thought, amused. He shook his head as he replaced it in his pocket again. It'd make a nice keepsake from this adventure, along with the weapons Ardeth had given him. He thought about how today he would finally get to see Kiriyah Gan, and his heart soared. I'm finally coming home, he thought.


	24. Rite of Passage

A few minutes later, Ardeth came out of the tent, trying to straighten his hair. "Are you well, my friend?" the young Med-jai asked quietly, looking out across the desert with watchful eyes.

"Yeah," Rick said to the prince, smiling eagerly. "Better than I've been in a long time. I'm excited to see your home."

"You will love it there. I will show you everything, and we will have many adventures," Ardeth promised, tracking the movements of the warriors as they started to pack up the camp for the last time. "I might even be able to convince Father to allow you to take lessons with me, and then we can use the things we learn to wage war on my cousins."

Rick's smile widened at the thought. He stood and turned to face the prince. "So, when do we head out?"

"In just about an hour. Uncle Terrence will have breakfast ready soon—Father and I need to go prepare." Ardeth also rose, shaking the sand from his robes.

Rick hid the smile that statement brought to his face, figuring he'd teased Ardeth enough about the ceremonial robes he would have to wear, but nodded. All of the sudden, a shrill cry came from the tent.

"MY FEZ!" Dr. Bey yelled.

"Aw, man," Rick groaned. "I was hoping I could hold onto that for one more day."

Ardeth laughed. "He'll be thrilled—he wasn't looking forward to returning to the city without it. I think he doesn't want people to know that he's gone bald."

Rick chuckled before turning to Ardeth. "So, I guess I'll see you in an hour?"

The younger boy nodded. "Yes. Enjoy your time alone with my uncle—I wish you well in preserving your life."

Rick moaned forlornly and rolled his eyes as he went back inside the tent for breakfast and his funeral. Dr. Bey eyed him suspiciously as he handed him his breakfast making sure that he held Rick's gaze long enough for the boy to take note of the hat on his head. Rick swallowed hard but tried to keep a straight face. "Thank you for the food, Dr. Bey," he said as he took the plate from his hands and made his way over to the opposite side of the tent.

As Rick ate, he could feel Dr. Bey staring at him almost constantly. After several minutes, the man finally gave up trying to stare Rick into confessing his guilt and started packing up the tent.

He's been taking lessons from Evy! Rick thought in fear but breathed a sigh of relief when he finally began packing up the tent. He decided it might be prudent to keep his guns close at hand and as far away from Dr. Bey as possible. So, he slipped them into the holster straps, securing them in place. Once he had finished eating, he subtly kept raising his eyes to make note of Dr. Bey's position around the tent.

Dr. Bey finished packing up the tent several minutes later and shook his head. "Suleimon is going to be disappointed. Still no sign of his shaving equipment," the man said, tossing the packs outside where they would be loaded onto the horses.

Rick didn't say anything but began to clean his guns while they were waiting. Inwardly, Rick was dying of laughter. Ardeth would have his revenge after all, and they still didn't know he had done it.

It wasn't long until some warriors came to dismantle the tent. Several minutes later, when everyone was standing by their horses, ready to go, Ardeth and Suleimon emerged from behind several trees of the oasis. They were both dressed in the white robes with white pants and shirts underneath the open dress robes. Crowns adorned their heads, giving the father and son a regal, mysterious look.

Rick stared up at them in awe, jaw hanging open. Both the king and his son looked every inch the royals that they were. The majestic robes suited Ardeth very well.

As the two swept past the column of bowing warriors, Ardeth glanced at Rick. "Shut your mouth, you look like a fish," the boy hissed, not breaking stride at all. Ardeth and Suleimon mounted their horses at the same time and started towards the nearby mountains.

Rick closed his mouth but smiled and shook his head as he mounted his horse. Soon, everyone was ready to get underway and head into the city.

It was noon when they reached Kiriyah Gan. Two scouts had gone ahead to let the tribes know that the king and the prince were returning.

By the time they reached the city proper, many of the twelve tribes had gathered to see their king and their prince ride through the streets. Despite the fact that Ardeth perceived it to be a nuisance, Rick could see that he kept his regal bearing as the procession headed down the street.

The crowds pressed close, many of the people reaching to touch Ardeth and make certain he was really there and fine. The news of his kidnapping had hit the tribes hard, and all were concerned about the young prince. Ardeth bore the attention well, quietly smiling and murmuring reassurances to the people trying to reach him.

Rick smiled to see how much his people loved him. It seemed strange to him but in a good way. In Cairo, he very rarely saw people showing affection to one another as most of the brutes on the streets took it for weakness and had beaten it from them. But with the Med-jai, it was as if this wasn't a nation of people but an incredibly large family.

Finally, they reached the palace. Once the doors were closed, Ardeth sighed and relaxed only to be nearly tackled from all sides by several girls his age and older.

Rick had to jump back to avoid being trampled to death. All the girls were clamoring around Ardeth, who looked like he was being ambushed. "So these are your cousins, I take it?" Rick asked, moving closer to his friend's side in an attempt to rescue him, hoping to draw some of the attention away from him.

At that, some of the girls squealed and turned to stare openly at Rick, chattering to each other in Arabic. Ardeth fought his way free of the girls and hurried over to his friend. "Yes, these are my cousins. Normally, they are polite, but they seem to have forgotten that they are supposed to be speaking English."

"No, that's alright. I'm sure they don't meet very many people who don't speak Arabic." Rick nodded and bowed slightly in greeting. "Hey, nice to meet you." He felt a little awkward as they stared at him.

After a moment, Ardeth sighed heavily and started introducing Rick to his cousins. There were a dozen girls surrounding them, and it took him a little while to get through the introductions. After that, Ardeth grabbed Rick's wrist and hurried his friend up to his private rooms.

The moment they got into the room, Rick leaned against the door and let his weight slowly pull him down to the floor, breathing a sigh of relief. He was glad to be out from under the scrutiny of the girls’ eyes, like they had been examining a pet Ardeth had brought home. Rick looked around at Ardeth's bed chambers. "Whoa! Nice room!"

Ardeth smiled and started stripping out of his formal wear. "It's wonderful to be home," he said simply, digging through his closet for normal clothing. "And now you know why I fear my cousins."

Rick shook his head as he stood. "I don't get it. How can girls giggle so much? They don't see many Americans do they?"

"No, none of my cousins have left Kiriyah Gan ever. Eventually, they may decide to ride on a few patrols before they marry, but none of them really want to go near Hamunaptra." Once dressed again, Ardeth showed Rick the balcony.

"I can't say I blame them," Rick agreed ruefully. Once they reached the balcony, he was stunned at the beauty of the city. While he had seen it during the procession, he hadn't really been paying attention as he had been trying to keep his horse in formation and watching Ardeth and Suleimon with their people. "Whoa, it's gorgeous," he murmured as he took in the flowing waterfalls, the streets and buildings that seemed to glimmer in the sunlight, the beautiful gardens and forests that surrounded and laced though the city in a seemingly endless pattern. He was struck by how well hidden this place had been and how bleak and bare the desert looked outside the mountain that hid this lush tropical city.

"Welcome to my home," Ardeth said quietly, smiling at Rick's reaction. "This is Kiriyah Gan, the refuge of all Med-jai."

Rick closed his eyes as he felt the wind brushing his face with the cool mist of the waterfalls that flowed nearby. "Welcome home, buddy," Rick replied quietly. "You're safe now." He turned to smile at the prince.

Ardeth returned the smile, looking less guarded and younger than Rick had ever seen him. "Come on! I think we have time to explore before the feast tonight!"

Rick’s eyes shone at the suggestion. “Alright!” And he followed Ardeth out the door.

That evening, the feast started right at sunset. All of the Med-jai, except those out guarding Hamunaptra and the other sacred areas, were in the courtyard of the palace. Talking and laughter filled the air, along with the wonderful scents of freshly made food. Ardeth, once again dressed in his formal white robes, led Rick to where the food was spread out on dozens of tables.

Rick leaned over to Ardeth. "Your cousins didn't do any of the cooking tonight, did they?" he asked in a whisper, though there was a definite tone of trepidation in his voice.

"Their food is on that table over there—the one all of the women are gathered around and critiquing," Ardeth told him, pointing to a table in the corner. "Just don't look any of them in the eye, or they will follow you around until you try whatever poison they made."

"Thanks for the warning," Rick chuckled nervously. "You know I say what I want about Evy, but I'll give her this, at least she knows how to cook." Then, he elbowed Ardeth with a sly grin. “Hey, when do you think your oldest cousin will find the ‘gift’ we left for her?"

Ardeth grinned back. "Probably not until right before bed. We've got a couple of hours to wait. Oh, did I tell you? We have a meeting with the Elders after the feast."

Rick’s smile suddenly faded as he felt a twinge of nervousness grip him. "Is this one about you or about me?" he asked, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Mostly about me. This is the part where I get confined to Kiriyah Gan for the rest of my existence. If I can manage things right, though, I'll be able to get you confirmed as a Med-jai."

Rick looked at his friend sympathetically. "I'd try and reason with them for you, but I figure if I say anything, it won't be good for either of us."

Ardeth shook his head. "My father will step in if it gets too out of hand. On the positive side, the Elders have yet to threaten to kill me themselves to keep me out of trouble. I heard they did that with Father several times." The boy filled his plate and started making his way through the crowd to a back wall that was relatively isolated.

Rick followed along behind, being sure to load up on as many foods as he thought he could put away. "Your dad must have been worse than us. Hey, I remember him talking about scarabs when he told us about his adventure with Dr. Bey. Was that the flesh eating beetle you were telling me about before we got kidnapped?"

The younger boy nodded. "Yes, those are scarabs. Horrible creatures." Ardeth settled on the wall and started eating—Med-jai feasts were legendary.

"So, what kind of other trouble did your dad get into that they would threaten to kill him?"

"I'm not entirely certain—he refuses to tell me very many stories from his childhood. He claims it would give me too many ideas that I don't need," the boy said with a grin.

Rick laughed and looked at the prince as if he was shocked. "Give you ideas? He makes it sound like you have a hobby of getting into trouble. You never get into trouble, do you?"

Ardeth gave Rick his best innocent look. "I? Get in trouble? Never!"

Rick clapped his friend on the back and then began eating.

Several minutes later, Suleimon came up to them, looking much more relaxed. "Are you boys enjoying the feast?"

"Very much, Your Majesty," Rick said with a nod.

"Excellent. Well, make sure to eat up—the women are watching to make certain you try whatever it is that they made. Several of them are keeping your cousins distracted, too." Suleimon turned to go socialize some more, then paused. "The Elders are expecting us in about an hour."

Rick glanced about uncomfortably. "Maybe we should eat while sitting under a table. Then, we wouldn’t have to end up in the role of guinea pigs."

Ardeth laughed quietly. "Don't worry, they're just figuring out what you like best. They already know all of my favorite dishes, so they arrange to have at least one of each of my favorites at every feast."

"Oh," Rick said, nodding. He took a breath before asking a question he had nearly been afraid to ask since he found out that he was coming here with Ardeth. Since they had two weeks before they reached the city he figured he could ask later. But now, the meeting with the elders was in less than an hour. "What happens to me after I get my mark? Do I get to stay here?"

Ardeth sighed softly and looked at Rick. "If I have any authority at all, then yes. I will do my best to make certain that you are given a home here. I just don't know if the Elders will agree to it. But you are a brother to me, Rick. We will always share this connection."

Rick smiled appreciatively. He truly hoped Ardeth could convince them. He desperately wanted to stay with every fiber within him. But even if he didn't get to stay, it would be enough to know that Ardeth would always be his friend. "Thank you, Ardeth. If I were to choose anyone to be my brother, it would be you."

The younger boy firmly clasped Rick's shoulder, then sat back with a smile. "I'm going to get more food. Would you like anything?"

Rick looked down at his plate. He had barely been able to finish what he had gotten on the first round. He looked back up at Ardeth, amazed. "You know something crazy? I think I'm actually full! I don't think I've ever been full in my life! Of course, usually I'm never around food good enough to stomach lasting till I reach 'full.’"

"This is a good thing, my friend. But if you are full, you will miss out on the best part of the meal—the desserts!"

Rick thought for a moment before nodding. "There's always room for desserts!" Though he knew he may pay for it later. Oh well, we'll just get into extra mischief tomorrow! he thought cheerily as he walked with his friend to the table for another round.

There were two tables dedicated to the desserts and hordes of children around those tables. Occasionally, an adult would wander by and shoo off the children, but mostly, they had free reign.

Rick grabbed several small deserts before deciding he dare not risk any more. Throwing up in front of the elders from stuffing himself too full would probably not make a very good first impression.

Ardeth selected his own desserts, then paused, looking at an empty spot on the table with a mournful expression. An elderly lady appeared out of the shadows and dumped a piece of cake onto the boy's plate, kissed his cheek, and wandered off again.

Rick watched the exchange, amused but puzzled. "Okay, how’d you do that? You seemed to summon her at will. Who was that?"

"That was my grandmother. Her cake is the best, so it always disappears as soon as it's set out. She saves some for me."

Rick laughed. "Oh, yeah! I could get used to this place," he said before popping a small pastry into his mouth.

"This way, my friend—I want to get away from the crowds for a little while." Ardeth led the way into the palace's garden maze, relaxing as the hedges cut out the noise some.

"Wow," Rick said as he looked at the enormous bushes. "I've seen pictures of these in story books, but I never thought I'd actually seen one in real life. How do they grow that tall?"

The young Med-jai shrugged. "I do not know, my friend. I believe that it has something to do with the abundance of water, but I'm not certain."

Rick shook his head. "But then again, these past few weeks have all felt like something out of a story book." He set down his empty plate and began to pace.

"I know the feeling." Ardeth finished up his desserts and put his plate on a table set up in the corner of the maze. "Follow me, there's a fountain in the middle."

Rick followed to the fountain. When they reached it, Rick walked up to the side and leaned heavily on the edge, trying to calm himself. He could feel this anxiety building up inside of him as the time was drawing closer.

"Are you all right, my friend?" Ardeth asked, sitting beside Rick and resting a hand on the older boy's shoulder.

Rick nodded slowly. "Yeah, just getting a little antsy. Oh man, it's almost time." He shook his head. "I’ve never been nervous like this in my life. But then again, I don't think I've really wanted anything so badly in my life either. Well, unless you count the times I wanted for us to get out alive in the past little while."

Ardeth laughed at that. "Relax, my friend. The Elders are the Elders—Father is the one who has the final say in anything pertaining to the tribes. Come on, let's go."

Rick nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay." He turned and followed Ardeth.

Ardeth led the way into the palace using one of his favorite secret passages. Minutes later, they were standing outside of the doors to the council chambers. Suleimon and Terrence were waiting for them.

Rick swallowed hard and steeled himself. Suleimon's and Terrence's smiles were reassuring, but it was still taking every ounce of control he had to walk steadily into the chambers. Before they did, Rick looked over at Ardeth to see how he was holding up.

Ardeth had drawn himself to his full height and was wearing a very calm expression. But when he met Rick's eyes, Rick could see how nervous the younger boy was. Suleimon and Terrence entered the room, and Ardeth motioned for Rick to go in at the same time as him.

Rick walked with Ardeth, their stride matching without their knowledge as they both walked in together. Rick resolved here and now that he would not get Ardeth or himself into any trouble by speaking out of turn. He would only allow himself to speak when addressed directly. His face remained deceptively calm and composed even as he felt the Elders' eyes on him and Ardeth. He met their glances with his own, making certain to keep the appropriate amount of respect and deference in them.

The Elders turned to study Ardeth, and the boy sighed. He rolled his eyes and spun, displaying that he was almost fully healed from his adventures. A few of the Elders laughed at this, and most looked amused. Suleimon caught Ardeth's arm and pushed him onto a cushion.

This more than anything else helped to alleviate Rick's anxiety, and now, he had to work to hide a smile. Rick waited until Suleimon nodded at him before sitting next to Ardeth.

One of the Elders leaned forward and fixed his gaze on Ardeth. "Explain the events that happened to you since you left Kiriyah Gan, My Prince," the man ordered, and Ardeth inclined his head.

It took almost two hours for the boy to tell the Elders everything that he could remember about the events of the past several weeks. His revelation of Rick being a true Med-jai had startled many of them.

Rick held up under their scrutinizing glances. He listened to Ardeth's telling of their journey and many run-ins with the red guards. He watched Ardeth's expression as he revealed to the council Kasim's role in his abduction.

That revelation sparked heated discussion in Arabic for several minutes. Finally, the Elders turned back to Ardeth. The boy finished his tale, bowing respectfully to the Elders.

"I request that Rick O'Connell be given the marks of the tribe to show to all that he is Med-jai."

Rick turned his gaze back to the council to gauge their reaction to Ardeth's petition.

Silence filled the room for a moment before one of the men turned to Rick. "And you, young O'Connell—are you willing to take on the duties of the Med-jai? Will you stand between the light and darkness in the shadows, forever protecting mankind, yet never acknowledged for your sacrifices? Your ordeals thus far will serve as your Rite of Passage, but you must be willing to bind your body, heart, and soul to this most sacred duty. What say you?"

With a strength and a voice that didn't seem his own, he answered, "I am willing to accept my sacred duty."

The man stood. "So be it." Minutes later, Rick found himself sitting in the center of a circle of people. An older lady was sitting opposite him, one of Ardeth's cousins at her side, helping prepare everything.

Now, Rick was excited again. He had been accepted. When the Elder had spoken thus, he could hardly believe it. But he was about to receive the sacred mark of the Med-jai. He looked up at Ardeth with a broad smile.

Ardeth grinned back at him, also very excited. He was planning out in great detail all the mischief they could accomplish in the next several days.

Suleimon suddenly stood. "Give young O'Connell the sacred mark on his right wrist," the man commanded, startling everyone.

Rick looked up, confused. He knew if the king had gone to the effort to specify which mark he was to receive that it must have some impact on the significance of the mark itself. He looked between the king and Ardeth, a question in his eyes.

Ardeth was staring at his father, slightly confused. Usually, no one outside of the royal family bore that mark, let alone in a conspicuous place like one's right wrist. Suleimon shook his head slightly at Ardeth, and the boy sighed, resigned to waiting.

Rick saw the gesture and shrugged, thinking that the meaning could wait for him as well.

The tattoo artist offered Rick a cup full of some liquid while she arranged her needles and dye. When Rick glanced over at Ardeth, the boy nodded, encouraging him to drink it.

At this, Rick took the proffered glass and drank it. After a moment, he felt a tingling sensation, guessing that the drink must be to help ease the pain of the procedure. He watched carefully as the woman took his hand in a strong grasp and began her work.

Several minutes later, the lady was done. Her apprentice wrapped bandages around the new mark before the two of them left.

"Come, boys, I have some important things to discuss with you," Suleimon said, standing to leave the room.

Rick and Ardeth followed Suleimon together. All along the way, Rick could not stop looking at his wrist, even though he couldn't see the mark through the bandages. He found also that couldn't banish the smile from his face. He was a Med-jai.

Suleimon stopped in the sitting room attached to his personal quarters. He gestured the two boys to sit in the chairs, then paced for a minute. "Rick, I am very proud of you for taking on the duty of Med-jai so willingly."

Rick beamed. He had never heard anyone say they were proud of him before. "It's an honor for me to be accepted by your people and your family."

Suleimon's answering smile was sad. "I would love to have you stay here and live with us; however, I cannot."

"But Father, why—"

"Ardeth! Be silent, my son." Ardeth's mouth closed, and he stared at his father in shock—Suleimon had never been that curt with him before. The king took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Rick found he could not hide the disappointment from his face, but he swallowed hard and looked down for a second. He had known before that this could be a possibility. "I see," was all he could bring himself to say for a moment. Then gathering his composure, he raised his eyes and met the king's gaze again, asking the question that he feared most of all. "So, what happens now?"

Suleimon's eyes were sad as he knelt in front of the two boys. He gently took Rick's wrist where the mark had just been given to him. "This mark will ensure that all Med-jai and Med-jai allies know that you are one of us, and they will do all in their power to help you. My brother will take you back to Cairo in the morning. And I wish this did not have to be so, child, but I must take away your memories of these last few weeks. You know much more about Hamunaptra than is safe for you."

Ardeth sat up straighter and moved to protest, but Terrence rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. Slumping back, Ardeth dropped his eyes, fighting back feelings of betrayal.

Suleimon kept his eyes focused on Rick. "If there was any other way than doing you this disservice, I would take it, but as king, I am obligated to follow the visions I receive. You and Ardeth will meet again in many years and accomplish many tremendous things, but until then, you must forget everything."

"No, Father, please!" Ardeth's voice was heartbroken as he stared between his best friend—his brother—and his father.

Rick looked as if he had been struck. He felt his heart, which had risen into his throat, fall back into his stomach with a sickening thud. "What?" he murmured. Not certain he had heard correctly. It couldn't be. It just couldn't, after what had happened, after all he and Ardeth had been through together, and now he had to forget? He had to let go of everything, including the only person he trusted with his life? He couldn't give that up, no matter what visions arose. He hung his head to hide the tears of fear and frustration that threatened to flow. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the first thing he saw was his bandaged wrist. He shut them again immediately, not needing the painful reminder of all he was about to lose when all he wanted right now was to disappear from existence.

"Father, please, don't do this—Rick is my brother! The memory change hasn't been done for hundreds of years, since all have agreed that it is too dangerous—it can change someone's very personality!"

“No,” Rick said softly once he finally found his voice again. Then, he took a breath and spoke again louder this time. “No! I can’t! I can’t lose this!” He looked up at the king, his eyes still red, but his voice had found its strength again. “Maybe if it had only been for a day or two, I might be able to understand, but these past two weeks, despite everything that we went through, have been the best weeks of my life! I can’t just give that up. I can’t give him up!” he said desperately, pointing at Ardeth. “He’s the best friend I have! He’s my family, and I can’t lose one more member of my family, I just can’t!” His voice broke for a second. “I can keep your secret! I swear on everything am, I’d never tell anyone!” He sounded like he was begging , but at this particular moment, he didn’t care.

Suleimon raised pained eyes to stare at Terrence. The curator stared back at him, then slowly inclined his head, knowing what had to be done. The king turned back to Rick and gently rested his hand on the side of the boy’s face. “Rick, there are more forces at work here than you know about.”

Ardeth lunged forward to push between Rick and his father, but Terrence caught his arm and forced him back down. This time, the young Med-jai fought back, and Dr. Bey had to almost sit on the boy to keep him from interfering.

Rick stared into Suleimon's eyes with his own, eyes that were filled with confusion, hurt, and anger. "I don't care," he breathed. "This is all that matters to me."


	25. Souls Divided (Original Ending)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This ending is made to be compliant with the movie.

"I am so sorry, Rick," Suleimon whispered, hugging the boy tightly to his chest. "Someday, I pray you will understand and forgive me." The man closed his eyes and kissed Rick's forehead, invoking the memory spell at the same time.

Rick looked for a second like he had been about to say something but then, a strange daze came over his face. The wave that rushed through him was staggering, and it was too much for his overwhelmed senses to register. His eyes closed heavily, as if with a great sleep, and his body fell limp against the king's embrace. Suleimon, hurting from this necessary action, held him there for a few moments. The cries from Ardeth tore his heart in two.

Managing to twist away from his uncle, Ardeth sprang to his feet, grabbing Rick away from his father and lowering the older boy to the couch. Then, the prince rounded on his father, staying protectively between Rick and the adults. Ardeth tried to find words to express the betrayal he was feeling to his father, but couldn't, so he turned his back on the man and knelt next to Rick, who was sleeping peacefully now. The boy buried his face in his hands, crying, feeling utterly lost and abandoned.

Suleimon hung his head, knowing the pain Ardeth was going through. "I'm sorry, my son, that I had to do this to you and to Rick.” He didn't move but let his son grieve the loss of his friend.

Terrence moved over to stand beside the king and Ardeth. "It was necessary for Rick's protection and for your own," Terrence spoke quietly.

"Rick would have been safe if he had stayed here." Ardeth's voice was hoarse, and he refused to look at his father and uncle. "Rick is the brother of my soul, and now, you have torn him away from me."

Suleimon slid closer next to his son and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "Rick has a destiny to fulfill. If he stayed here as a Med-jai, he would have trained and gone with you on your watches to Hamunaptra. What would happen if he were to fall in battle in the service of his sacred duty?" he asked gently.

Ardeth's shoulders slumped. "I would not have let that happen," the boy whispered, raising a hand to rest on Rick's forehead like he did almost every night to ward off dreams sent from the Creature. "How do you expect me to be able to go on from this, Father? I cannot just—just pretend this has never happened."

Suleimon looked at Terrence who nodded almost imperceptibly. Suleimon turned back to his son, holding him closer. "I know." He kissed Ardeth's forehead as well, invoking the memory charm on his son. "Sleep, my son."

Terrence watched quietly as Suleimon caught Ardeth and put him on the other couch in the room. "It's better this way, my brother," the museum curator murmured, resting a hand on Suleimon's shoulder.

The king hung his head but nodded. "He will not have to bear the pain of memory this way, either of Rick, who will still be searching for someone or something to belong to, or of the depth of Kasim's betrayal." The king gave a hollow laugh despite the tears that were flowing down his face. "He will be most confused to wake and find himself home instead of guarding Hamunaptra."

Terrence watched as Suleimon brushed the hair out of Ardeth's face. He wrapped an arm around the king, wishing he could ease the ache from his brother's heart. "I will leave before dawn, and I will wake Rick up once we are back in Cairo. I will have to perform the memory spell on young Evelyn Carnahan also, since she saw them get taken, or she will question Rick about it."

The king nodded, watching his son sleep for a moment more. Then his eyes drifted back over to Rick's prone form. "Keep an eye on him for me, will you brother? Ardeth would never forgive me if anything were to happen to him now." Then, he laughed a little at the irony of his words. "Well, he might even without his memories."

"I will watch him and protect him as best as I am able," Terrence promised, steering Suleimon over to a chair. "The boys are just that—boys. When they are adults, they will understand why we had to do this. Will they ever regain these memories?"

Suleimon thought about this for a moment. "It has happened before. Let us both hope, for their sakes, that these memories come once they have fulfilled their tasks. Because by then, I don't think we will be strong enough to pin them down to perform this charm again."

At that, Terrence laughed, rubbing his arm. "I wasn't able to keep Ardeth pinned for long this time. I'm amazed that the temple guards were able to capture them at all. Well," the man stood, sighing, "I must go tell the Med-jai who came with me to prepare to leave. Are you going to announce to the tribes what has been done tonight, while the boys still sleep?"

The king nodded, knowing that it would be more difficult to explain once Ardeth had awakened. He moved to the door and had the guards there move Rick while he was sleeping to another room. He did not want to go through this all over again if, for some reason, he or Ardeth should wake before they were supposed to. Then, he summoned the woman who had the power over dreams to Rick's chamber. The last thing they needed was for Rick to find Hamunaptra on his own somewhere on down the road and die there anyways. The king quickly explained the situation to her, asking her to bind the Creature forever from his dreams.

The woman knelt, placing her hand on Rick's forehead and closed her eyes as she began her task. It was almost an hour later before she stirred, moving away from Rick, utterly drained. "It is done, Your Majesty," she whispered, looking at the boy with pity. "I would not have been able to accomplish this if your son had not already begun the process—the Creature's hold on this boy was strong."

Suleimon's brow furrowed. For the hold to be almost too strong for even a woman of her magic to break through, he was astounded that Rick had not already succumbed to the Creature's power. Usually once a fully-grown man reached this point, he was already too far gone to be saved. The king nodded and thanked the woman for her service. This was the least he could do for Rick before sending him back to Cairo. At least now, the boy could sleep in peace. Then after looking back at Rick one last time, he walked out the door to address his people.

Because the Med-jai were used to unusual things happening, they accepted Suleimon's explanation and command that both Rick and Ardeth had forgotten the last two weeks and were not to be told anything about it. The Elders were, of course, upset that they hadn't been informed prior to the memory wipe but accepted it with a minimum of fuss.

The next morning, Terrence visited the king before he set out on his journey back to Cairo. "We have performed the enchantment that will keep Rick asleep until we reach the city." He moved to embrace his brother. "I am sorry that our meeting and parting had to be under such painful circumstances. Perhaps next time I see you, it will be for something as normal and dull as the report I bring to you from Cairo," he said with a sly grin.

Suleimon smiled at that. "We can always hope. Have a safe trip, brother," the king returned Terrence's embrace before watching his brother go.

Terrence walked down to where the horses were waiting. Rick had been secured, sitting behind Gen on horseback who had a grim look on his face. He was sad to learn that the boys' memories had to be erased. But he knew that the City of the Dead must be protected at all costs. He nodded to Dr. Bey that they were ready to begin their journey. Dr. Bey nodded in reply, mounted his horse, and led Med-jai warriors out across the dessert.

Suleimon watched them until they disappeared, then turned to go back into the palace. Ardeth would be waking up soon, and the king needed to come up with an explanation about why the boy was here.

The king knelt next to Ardeth's bed. He had had the boy moved back to his own room after he had spoken to the people the night before. He waited there for a while, resting his hand over the boy's. He tried to keep a smile on his face, since the boy would have no memory of the night before and would be confused to awaken to see his father so sad. He ran his other hand through the dark hair that fell gently across his son’s face.

Ardeth stirred, and blinked at Suleimon, looking confused. "Father?" the boy asked, rubbing a hand over his face and wondering why his eyes ached like he had been crying. "What happened? Why am I home?"

Suleimon smiled gently at Ardeth. "You have had a long journey, my son. You went to Cairo to find hidden allies and were kidnapped by temple guards."

Frowning, the boy absently rubbed at his temple. "I don't remember, Father. I remember being at Hamunaptra, but I don't remember going to Cairo at all!"

Suleimon nodded as if that was to be expected. "They brought you back to Hamunaptra to try and force you to reveal the secrets that only members of the royal family are allowed to keep so that they could raise the Creature. You stopped them but, in the process, were tortured and injured greatly. We brought you back home so that you could heal. We knew you would not remember, and somehow, I feel that is for the best. You have been through much in the past fortnight, my son."

With a sigh, the boy sat up, yawning . "Very well, Father. Does this mean that I get out of lessons?"

Suleimon laughed. "I'm afraid not my son. You are almost completely healed now."

"I got out of lessons and I don't even remember it? That is not fair at all," Ardeth grumbled, smiling, and blushed as his stomach growled.

"You will find as you grow there are many things in life that are not fair," Suleimon said, shaking his head in amusement. "Some things more than others. You will, however, eat breakfast before you begin your studies. And do not worry. I've managed to keep your cousins away from the kitchen this morning. Although, it wasn't easy—they were all quite worried about you and wanted to prepare food to help speed your recovery."

Ardeth winced. "Thank you, Father, for saving my life," the boy said, imagining how painful his death would be if he was forced to eat his cousin's cooking.

Suleimon patted his son's hand reassuringly before rising to his feet. "You're welcome, Ardeth. I must go. There many things to see to that have been long since requiring my attention." He had to suppress a groan as he thought of all the work he had fallen behind on because of the abduction and rescue mission. He would probably be in session with the Elders all day now.

Ardeth waved as he went off to get his breakfast. Throughout the day, he did his best to focus on his lessons, but several times caught himself turning to make a comment, only to find no one beside him. The boy focused on doing his duty, ignoring the missing part of his soul.

Rick groaned as he rolled over groggily. He felt a hand on his shoulder, trying to rouse him. "Five more minutes," he mumbled.

He heard a laugh, and his shoulder was shaken again. "Wake up, young O'Connell." It was Dr. Bey's voice, and he sounded just as stern as always.

"What?" Rick opened his eyes and blinked a few times. It took a while for his vision to come into focus. When he did, he pushed himself up on his elbows sleepily. He looked around confused. "Why am I in your office?" He stretched somewhat to get the stiffness out. He felt like he had been asleep for days.

Dr. Bey gave him a sad smile. "You were badly injured when the museum was attacked. I have been caring for you, but you are almost healed now. Father Duncan will be here in a few minutes to escort you back to the orphanage."

"Attacked?" Rick asked in confusion. "Why would anyone attack the museum?" Then after a moment, the statement sunk in, and he sat up more fully. "Is Evy alright?"

"Miss Carnahan is fine. Now, you did suffer one injury that has made it so that you will not remember the last two weeks. I apologize for this, though there are some parts of it that I'm certain you will be glad not to remember," Dr. Bey sighed and drew a small bag out from behind his desk. "Here are your weapons. I do not want to see them in my museum again, do you understand?"

Rick took the bag and looked at them for a moment, confused. These aren't my weapons, Rick thought, but he didn't say anything out loud. He had always wanted a gun set, and if they had been left behind, Rick figured they wouldn't be missed too much. The smile on his face, though, was like a kid at Christmas as he slid the holsters out of the bag and put them on. "Yes, sir." he said, nodding. He found the penknife as well and smiled with the pleasant feeling it gave him, but then, he frowned, wondering why. He had never seen it before in his life. He examined it a moment longer before stuffing it into his belt. As he looked in the bag to see what else was in there, he spotted his bracer. Fishing it out to put it on, he was surprised to find a tattoo on his right wrist. "How did that get there??" He looked up at Dr. Bey for an explanation.

Dr. Bey looked at him gravely. "That mark was given to you to help you later on in life. I will tell you more about it later," the man said with no intention of telling Rick any more about it. He couldn't chance the boy's memories returning. "Also, there is a phrase that you should know."

"What??" Rick sputtered, incredulous. "You did this? What am I part of some secret society now?"

Dr. Bey fixed Rick with his most severe expression. "Mr. O'Connell, do you honestly believe that I am part of some 'secret society', as you so eloquently put it?" the man demanded, using Rick's own perceptions of him against the boy. "Now, listen carefully. If someone were ever to say to you, ‘I am a stranger, traveling from the East, seeking that which is lost,’ then you must reply, ‘I am a stranger, traveling from the West; it is I whom you seek.’ Do you understand?"

Rick paused and considered the phrase for a moment. He had heard that somewhere before, he just knew it, but for the life of him, he could not remember where. "'I am a stranger traveling from the West; it is I whom you seek.'" His voice as he repeated the words were distant before he raised his eyes to regard Dr. Bey strangely. But from the look in the curator's eyes, Rick decided it would probably be safer not to question him just now. And what did he care? He got a gun set out of the deal. But something in the back of his mind felt vaguely out of place.

A few minutes later, Evy opened the door to show Father Duncan in. The girl was looking slightly dazed, like she had forgotten something important. Rick forgot about Evy almost immediately, though, because the old priest had grabbed him in a fierce hug.

Rick smiled. As he turned to leave with Father Duncan, he turned to say goodbye, but not to Evy or Dr. Bey. He stopped, slightly confused for a moment. Who had he been about to say good-bye to? His heart sunk at the pain that this brought though he didn't understand it and tried to shrug it off. Maybe the museum was reminding him again of the loss of his parents, but something told him otherwise. As he walked out of the building with the priest heading back to the orphanage, he dug his hands into his pockets and was surprised to find a small octagonal box.


	26. Home at Last (Alternate Ending)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Universe ending that leads to the rest of the Med-jai Chronicle adventures!

Rick stared into Suleimon's eyes with his own, eyes that were filled with confusion, hurt, and anger. "I don't care," he breathed. "This is all that matters to me."

"I am so sorry, Rick," Suleimon whispered, hugging the boy tightly to his chest. "Someday, I pray you will understand and forgive me." The man closed his eyes and kissed Rick's forehead, about to invoke the memory spell.

“Stop!” a breathless voice ordered, and an old lady dressed in Med-jai blue burst into the room. “Suleimon, do not cast that spell!”

“Grandmother!” Ardeth called from where Terrence had him pinned, and pleaded with the old lady to stop what was happening in a mix of languages, too upset to stick with just one.

Suleimon, startled by the interruption, turned towards his mother. He was surprised by her interference. After a second, he found his voice again. "Mother? What is the meaning of this?" the king asked confused, though he was only mildly surprised that she had knowledge of what was transpiring in the room without being told. For as long as Suleimon could remember, Savath seemed to instinctively know somehow what was guarded as most secret.

"Let go of my grandchild at once, Terrence!" the lady ordered and pulled Ardeth close to herself, stilling his shaking whispers with a gentle hug. Her burning eyes turned to Suleimon. "I have seen the future, my son, and if you continue in this course, it will be terrible. While these boys will go through a great deal, if they have each other they will only be strengthened. But if you separate them this soon after they met and formed a bond, they will be shattered. Do not do this to your son or to your people, Suleimon."

Suleimon looked between Ardeth and Rick, then back at his mother. "They both have a great destiny before them," he said slowly. "You are certain that this will not endanger them or their purpose?" he asked her, his eyes never leaving hers.

Rick was trembling, casting back and forth between Ardeth's grandmother and Suleimon who still held him.

"My king, I speak the truth. This bond between them will only give them strength through what they must endure to be ready for their destiny. You know what they will face—I know what they must go through in order to face it." The old woman stepped forward, keeping Ardeth in the circle of her arms, and rested a hand on Suleimon's arm. "It will work out, my son—my king."

Rick held his breath, silently pleading with the king to agree with Ardeth’s grandmother. Glancing over at Ardeth, his deep blue eyes could see his own fears and hopes reflected in the prince’s dark brown ones. The silence in that moment was agonizing.

Suleimon looked down considering the woman’s words. It seemed an eternity before he spoke again. “Very well, Savath.” The king closed his eyes as if he were as much relieved by this fact as the boys were.

Rick tried to get his breathing and heartbeat to slow once he had registered Suleimon’s words. He looked at Savath, his eyes conveying his gratitude. He knew he would never be able to repay her for her influence on his behalf that night, but he would sure try. Then much to his surprise and momentary alarm, the king’s arms around him tightened. His panic went down though when he realized the king was only embracing him.

After a moment, Suleimon let go of Rick and turned away. His long legs easily carried him out the door before anyone could say anything else. Savath sighed heavily and turned to look at her grandson and his new brother. “Go after your father, Ardeth, my child. He believes that you will hate him for what he was about to do.”

“Yes, Grandmother,” the boy whispered and met Rick’s eyes, silently asking if the older boy would be all right if left alone for a little while.

Rick nodded, still a little shaken by all that had happened, but assuring Ardeth that he would be alright.

Ardeth hurried after his father, knowing immediately that Suleimon was going to the private garden attached to the king's personal chambers. It was where the memorial for Ardeth's mother was.

When he found Suleimon, the king was on his knees before the ornate statue in the likeness of the late queen, his forehead leaning heavily against the stone, his shoulders shuddering slightly.

Taking a deep breath, Ardeth pushed aside his own hurt and confusion about what had just happened and knelt next to Suleimon. He made certain the king was aware of his presence, then leaned against Suleimon's side. "Father?"

Suleimon's eyes glistened, but he found he could not look at his son just yet. After a moment, he breathed deeply trying to compose himself. "Will you be able to forgive me for what I had been going to do?" he asked finally the question that tore at his heart. He loved his son dearer than life. And the idea that he might lose him by his own actions tore more painfully at his heart than anything else.

"Of course, I will forgive you, Father. You were doing what was the best option for everyone that you knew of." Ardeth swallowed hard. "Will you forgive me, my king, for not obeying you?"

"Oh, Ardeth," Suleimon whispered, the tears rolling down his face as he finally turned towards his son pulling him into his arms, wrapping them tightly around him. "There is nothing to forgive. You were protecting him, as he protects you, as you both do for each other. This is your path, your destiny, though I fear it is wrought with peril and much pain."

Ardeth rested his head against Suleimon's chest, listening to the man's heartbeat. "There are so many events colliding right now, and futures are changing rapidly. Can you feel the twists in the air, Father? Savath has never led us wrong before—she will guide us now."

Suleimon closed his eyes, taking comfort in his son's wisdom. "Yes, she will." He pulled back to look into the boy's dark eyes. "I love you, my son. Please know that, no matter what happens, that will never change!"

"I love you, Father," Ardeth whispered back, smiling at the king.

The king smiled and kissed his son's forehead, pulling the boy back to himself and holding him there a while longer.

After several minutes, Ardeth pulled back a little. "I left Rick alone with Savath and Uncle Terrence. We should probably go rescue him."

Suleimon laughed at this but nodded and followed Ardeth back to the room.

Ardeth kept a hold of Suleimon's hand as they walked, knowing how much his father needed the reassurance that he was right there.

Rick was still sitting on the couch where they had left him when they made it back to the room, kicking his feet nervously. He shifted uncomfortably as eyes drifted occasionally to rest on him. But inside, he was confused. So what would happen now, he wondered. Would he be allowed to stay? He tried not to think about it, afraid to hope for it again. But he was infinitely relieved that at least his memories weren't going to be erased.

Savath was talking quietly with Terrence and sent him out after a moment. Then, the old lady came and sat next to Rick, studying him carefully. Finally, she nodded. "You are good for my grandson. You have made him happy."

Rick’s cheeks reddened slightly at her words. He had never heard anyone say that about him before. Back at the orphanage, many of his peers had told him that he was a loser, and that he would never be good enough for anybody. He had brushed them off easily enough, trying not to let the words get to him, but they had hurt him deeply, especially in his first years at the orphanage. Then as time passed, the frequency with which he heard them had ingrained the idea into his head as a fact more than an insult, so much so that it was almost startling to hear otherwise now. “Uh, . . . thank you,” he said, then he shrugged, feeling as though he hadn’t really done anything much. “He’s my best friend. I just hope I can do right by him.”

Brushing a hand over his forehead, Savath smiled. “You will do just fine, young Rick O’Connell. There are many challenges facing you, and you will go through times so dark you will forget the light. But never forget that your heart is now bound to Ardeth’s—you are the older, and while he is prince, he needs you to be his anchor.”

Rick nodded solemnly. "I will, I promise." It wasn't a difficult promise to make, since he already felt protective of his friend. But Savath’s words instilled in him the idea that from now on his actions would have an impact on someone else, which was definitely not something he was used to.

Just then, Ardeth and Suleimon came back into the room, Ardeth had a firm grip on his father's hand, and both looked much calmer than earlier.

Rick smiled at Ardeth, glad to see that both he and his father seemed to be more at peace. "Hey buddy," he greeted his friend, as he stood and walked over to him.

"Rick," Ardeth said, smiling at his friend. His smile suddenly turned into a mischievous grin, and the younger boy turned to look at Suleimon. "Father, look at what I found! An American Med-jai! Can I keep him?"

Rick threw a withering glance at his friend, trying to keep the smile off his face. But then, he looked nervously at the king, half afraid of his answer, the smile fading from his face.

Suleimon rolled his eyes. "You will have to ask your grandmother that, my son. She seems to be in charge of this house, as always."

Rick smiled, breathing in relief. He was glad for the break in the tension, and he was at least certain how she seemed to feel about him staying. He turned grinning to Ardeth and then to Savath, pleading.

The old lady approached them, circling Rick several times, humming tunelessly. "My grandson, you may keep him, but only if you promise to take good care of him! Feed him lots, train him well, and make certain he bathes often!"

Ardeth snickered. "I will fulfill these duties, grandmother."

Rick rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Oh, come on Ardeth. You make it sound like you found some stray on the street... well maybe you did, but still! I've got my ... well, no... I really don't have that much of a reputation, but still!"

"What is wrong, my friend? Grandmother and I just arranged for you to stay here with me. You will eat with us, sleep in my room, and eventually join in my lessons."

Rick smiled broadly at this. "I like the sound of that," he breathed, nodding. He was beaming again like he had been before they had entered Suleimon's chambers.

Suleimon stepped forward and looked at Rick. "I apologize for my earlier actions, Rick."

Rick looked up at the king, clearly still a little confused, but he nodded. "That's alright, Your Majesty." He was more than willing to let it go since he had been allowed to stay.

"You two, off to bed! My son and I must talk." Savath kissed both of the boys on the cheek before sending them off.

The two said their goodbyes, and Rick followed Ardeth out the door. Once the door closed behind him, Rick closed his eyes and released the breath he hadn't realized he was still holding, his muscles finally beginning to relax.

"Are you all right, my friend?" Ardeth asked, turning back to Rick in concern.

"I'm fine," Rick said, nodding slightly. "Breathing is good. After that, I think I'm going to sleep well tonight," he shook his head, noting how exhausted he felt.

Ardeth nodded. "Come on, this way." The younger boy led the way through the halls, and in minutes, they were in Ardeth's room. Moonlight came in through the open window, giving them just enough light to see to get ready for bed.

After Rick was done getting ready, he pulled out the puzzle box he had found in his pocket that morning and began to examine it carefully. He didn't really remember enough of the hieroglyphs to translate it, but he recognized one of the symbols on the back, as a small figure of Anubis.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Ardeth opened it to find a healer there. "The king sent me to ward someone's dreams against the Creature."

Rick stuffed the key back into his pocket, knowing the healer had come for him. He stepped forward. "That'd be me."

With a smile, the healer came into the room. "Lie down, young man, and relax. This will not take long, and then the Creature will no longer be able to touch your dreams."

Rick did as he was told, lying down on the couch, since he didn't want to take Ardeth's bed and didn't have a bed of his own yet.

The lady knelt next to him, resting a hand on his forehead. Her eyes closed, and her brow creased in concentration. Moments, later, Rick felt incredibly sleepy and heard the healer whispering in a different language.

Having already been exhausted by the day's events, Rick didn't try to hang onto consciousness for long, and drifted away to the soothing sound of the woman's voice.

Ardeth watched as the healer worked and was very pleased to know that Rick's dreams would be safe now.

After about an hour, the healer finally pulled away, completely drained. She expressed her joy to the prince that he was safely home and bade him good night before leaving the room.

The healer found Suleimon and Savath talking quietly in the king's personal study. "My King, I have warded the boy's dreams like you asked. I would not have been able to accomplish this if your son had not already begun the process—the Creature's hold on this boy was strong."

Suleimon's brow furrowed. For the hold to be almost too strong for even a woman of her magic to break through, he was astounded that Rick had not already succumbed to the Creature's power. Usually once a fully-grown man reached this point, he was already too far gone to be saved. The king nodded and thanked the woman for her service before turning back to Savath. "At least he will find some peace from the darkness of Hamunaptra now. Well, at least for a time."

The old lady nodded. "For a time, yes, they will have peace. Now you, my son, must go and seek your rest. Go!"

The King smiled. "Yes mother," he intoned like a dutiful son. He embraced her. "Thank you, for stopping me and for speaking to Ardeth for me."

Savath hugged him back. "You are welcome, Suleimon. You are a good man and a great king—never forget that. Now go and sleep."

“Thank you,” Suleimon said as he left and headed to his room.

Ardeth woke up early the next morning, thrilled to be in his own bed. After a moment, he stood and went out onto his balcony. He wanted to see the sunrise.

The hidden valley of the Med-jai city was awash with brilliant fiery tones as the sun made its ascent over the edge of the horizon. The light reflected off of every lake and river it touched, sending dazzling light dancing across the buildings the desert people dwelt in, including the walls of the palace.

Sighing in contentment, Ardeth waved to the few people out this early before going back inside to see if Rick was up yet.

Rick was stirring from the amount of light spilling into the room. He turned over in his sleep on the couch, the blanket he had used the night before falling onto the floor.

"Rick, wake up. There is something you should see," Ardeth said, dropping to his knees next to the older boy.

Rick's eyes opened blearily. "Huh? What happened?" He looked groggily up at Ardeth. "Hey, buddy."

"Come, Rick, you must see this." Ardeth tugged Rick off the couch, leading him to the balcony. The sky was still full of beautiful colors from the sunrise.

Rick rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he went, but as they stepped onto the balcony, he was struck by the beauty of Kiriyah Gan in the fresh morning light. "Whoa," he breathed as he leaned against the railing beside Ardeth. "It's amazing!"

"This is your new home, Rick." Ardeth rested a hand on the taller boy's shoulder. "The valley welcomes you."

Rick smiled widely at his friend. "I'm home," he whispered, his eyes glistening slightly. He shook his head. "I have a home, I still can't believe it. It seems too good to be true."

"It is true, my brother. We are home." Ardeth grinned back at Rick, then turned his attention to the valley. Kiriyah Gan was waking up to meet this new day. The air was filled with the spices of wild tropical flowers and a hint of baking bread. All around them, birds burst into song, and peace surrounded them. This was truly their home.


End file.
